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Bantag, Zulueta now on hold departure list — BI


Former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and former BuCor deputy officer Ricardo Zulueta are now on the hold departure list of the Bureau of Immigration (BI). 
 
This comes after a Muntinlupa City court issued a hold departure order upon the request of state prosecutors to prevent them from leaving the country during the pendency of the case involving the murder of Jun Villamor, the alleged middleman in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid. 
 
“The HDO was immediately encoded in our centralized system and may be seen by our immigration officers at all ports nationwide,” said Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Friday.
 
“Should they be encountered in any airport or seaport, they will be prevented from departing without prior approval from the courts,” he added.
 
Separate warrants of arrest were earlier issued by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 and the Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Branch 254 for Bantag and Zulueta in connection with the killings of Villamor and Lapid, respectively. 
 
Lapid was shot dead by two suspects onboard a motorcycle in Las Piñas on October 3, 2022.
 
Meanwhile, Villamor died at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa on October 18. An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun showed the remains of Villamor to have a “history of asphyxia by plastic bag suffocation.” 
 
Bantag earlier claimed that all the allegations against him were just fabricated.  —VBL, GMA Integrated News