BuCor HQ to push through if experts agree — Catapang

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang Jr. on Tuesday said they will continue with the construction of a new headquarters in a property in Tanay, Rizal if experts can ensure that the area will be protected.

Catapang said he will consult with experts from the UP Urban Planning Center.

“Yeah, I will recommend that we push through with it without violating the ecological environment. In as much as this is a property that we also have move into. Right now we don’t have facilities near,” Catapang said in an interview on ANC.

This comes amid concerns from the Masungi Georeserve Foundation that the area being eyed by BuCor is within its territory.

For his part, Catapang said that he is willing to talk with the Masungi Foundation.

“In fact, there are already intermediaries. We’re putting up [a] chat group to really discuss this informally and maybe when the time comes, we can discuss this sitting down, face to face,” he said.

The BuCor OIC also reiterated that there was a proclamation issued under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration that gave BuCor that parcel of land.

Catapang previously said Bucor's rights on the property were based on the transfer certificate issued in September 2006 under Presidential Proclamation 1158.

“And it stated that it would be a new site of the New Bilibid Prison and the field office site of the DENR. So I was just following the instructions,” he said. — Joahna Lei Casilao/RSJ, GMA Integrated News