Answer the complaint, Remulla tells Bantag

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday urged suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag to answer the complaints filed against him in connection with the death of journalist Percy Lapid.

“Answer the complaint,” Remulla said in a message to GMA News Online when sought for comment over Bantag daring his accusers to prove the charges against him, saying that these were fabricated.

Bantag, who is facing two complaints of murder, was pointed to by authorities as one of the masterminds behind the killing of Lapid and alleged middleman Jun Villamor.

A month since the preliminary hearings on the case was conducted, the camp of Bantag has yet to file a counter-affidavit on the complaints.

During the first preliminary hearing on November 23, Atty. Rocky Balisong, the legal counsel of Bantag, said their 10-day deadline for the submission of the counter-affidavit had only started as they received only then the correct subpoena.

Balisong said that a subpoena with the wrong middle name was initially issued to Bantag.

On the second hearing on December 5, Bantag and his camp filed a motion for inhibition to transfer the case from the DOJ to the Ombudsman. — Joahna Lei Casilao/RSJ, GMA Integrated News