Prosecutors have been selected to conduct the preliminary investigations of the two sets of torture complaints against suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag.
Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said the torture complaint filed by two New Bilibid Prison (NBP) has been assigned to Assistant State Prosecutor Michael Humarang.
Fadullon added that the complaint filed by six BuCor jail guards “has been assigned a few weeks ago to SASP Parrocha and PA Dalanao.”
The two prosecutors in the complaint filed by the jail guards are Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Roldan Parrocha and Prosecution Attorney Victor Dalanao.
Last Jan. 13, New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmates Ronald Usman and Jonathan Escopete filed a complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) that accused of violating the Anti-Torture Act of 2019 and two counts of serious physical injuries.
The two inmates alleged that they were stabbed by a drunk Bantag during a meeting held inside his office on Feb. 1, 2022.
They also accused BuCor Deputy Security Officer Ricardo Zulueta who was present during the incident of two counts of obstruction of justice.
The complainants said that these unlawful acts committed by the two “likewise constitute Grave Misconduct which warrant the conduct of an administrative investigation and filing of Formal Charges against them.”
Another complaint was filed last Jan. 20 was filed before the DOJ by six jail guards of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan, namely, Lazaro Rafols Jr., Jer Sahid Mojado, Eddie Jimenez Jr., Richie Canja, Roy Gacasa, and Asher Labrador.
The complainants alleged that they were beaten up inside the office of Bantag on March 2, 2020 over allegations of revealing the identity of an illegal drugs informant.
They named as respondents Bantag, Zulueta, former BuCor Deputy Director General Gabriel Chaclag, and BuCor personnel Jayferson Bon-as, Victor Erick Pascua, Bayani Allaga, Rose Marie Casion, Joel Arnold, Kanoy Lattot, Ave Akilit, Edgar Angeles Jr., and Michale Marzan.
The complainants alleged that the following offenses where committed: slander, grave threats, grave coercion, obstruction of justice and violation of the Anti-Torture Act.
