BuCor jail guards file torture, coercion complaint vs. Bantag, 11 others

Six corrections officers on Friday filed a criminal complaint against suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and 11 others over alleged torture, grave threat, grave coercion, oral defamation, and obstruction of justice.

Named as respondents were Bantag, former BuCor deputy security officer Superintendent Ricardo Zulueta, former BuCor spokesman Gabriel Chaclag, jail guards Jayferson Bon-As, Victor Pascua, Bayani Allaga, Rose Marie Casion, Joel Arnold, Kanoy Lattot, Ave Akilit, Edgar Angeles Jr., and Michale Marzan.

Meanwhile, the complainants are corrections officers Richie Canja, Lazaro Rafols, Jer Mojado, Eddie Jimenez, Roy Gacasa, and Asher Labrador.

The complaint was filed with the Department of Justice.

GMA News Online sought comment from the camps of Bantag and Zulueta. Bantag's camp has yet to respond as of posting time.

Zulueta's counsel, Atty. Lauro Gacayan, said they cannot comment as they have yet to read the complaint.

"I am sorry we could not comment on matters that we have not read. Our clients have not received the complaints under oath," he said in a message to GMA News Online.

Atty. Mauricio Ulep, the legal consultant of BuCor, said the complainants were originally based at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan.

According to Canja, Bon-As and his companions assaulted him and the others on March 1, 2020 at Iwahig for supposedly exposing an asset of the BuCor.

The following day, they were transferred to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), where Bantag allegedly hurt them.

“Personal na si General Bantag ang nambugbog sa mga complainants, lahat sila. Na in the presence of Chaclag and Zulueta at ‘yung mga siyam na ibang respondents,” he said.

“Sa complaint nila si Bantag lang. Pero nakipagcooperate 'yung mga iba dahil wala silang ginawa. Hindi nila pinigilan si Bantag," he added.

(It was General Bantag who hit the complainants, all of them, in the presence of Chaclag and Zulueta and the nine other respondents. In their complaint, it was only Bantag but the others were considered complicit because they did nothing to stop Bantag.)

In a separate interview, Canja said Bantag also allegedly threatened to harm their families.

“Okay lang sana kung kami ‘yun pero kung isama pa ‘yung pamilya namin, sasabihin nila pa sa amin na, ‘pu...ina ninyo, gusto ninyo pag dudukutin ko pa ‘yung mga pamilya ninyo at ‘yung mga asawa ninyo babarurutin ko sa harapan ninyo’,” Canja recalled.

(It's okay if it's just us but threatening to hurt our family is another thing. They told us that they will abduct our family members and they will sexually abuse our wives in front of us.)

He said Bantag also told them that he will give them one month to kill him.

The complainants also submitted a medical certificate dated December 13, 2022 to certify that Canja was treated on March 1, 2020 for multiple physical injuries secondary to mauling following the altercation with Bon-As.

However, Canja said that they did not go to the hospital following the incident with Bantag.

“Wala po sir. Wala pong pag gamutan na nangyari. Lahat po ng pananakit nila tinanggap namin ‘yan, kasama ng pananakit ng kanyang mga tao. ‘Yung paglagay nila ng bala sa amin. Itinuring kaming parang mga alipin sa gilid,” he said.

(We did not seek medical treatment for our wounds. We just accepted what they did to us. They treated us as slaves.)

Bantag was suspended in October 2022 following the death of Jun Villamor, the inmate who allegedly acted as the middleman in the killing of Percy Lapid.

Authorities later identified him to be one of the masterminds in the killing of Lapid and Villamor. He is facing two complaints for murder.

Bantag previously denied murdering Lapid, saying he suspected that a “syndicate” and “narco-politics” were behind the push to pin him down in the Lapid case.

He accused Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla of using Lapid's killing to cover the drug-related case houding his son during that time and having political plans in 2025.

The case filed against Remulla's son has been junked by Las Piñas court.—AOL, GMA Integrated News