Catapang to reshuffle BuCor personnel

MANILA, Philippines — Newly appointed Bureau of Corrections chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. officially assumed the BuCor post yesterday with his first order of business: a sweeping reshuffle of personnel to reform the agency.

After he was sworn in by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Catapang said he would reshuffle BuCor employees, including those in penal farms and correctional facilities outside Metro Manila.

Catapang said he has a list of prison officers to be reshuffled, but he opted not to disclose their names.

He said he would implement the Department of Justice’s prison reform agenda, which is a key project of the Marcos administration.

At least 30,000 inmates incarcerated in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) will be transferred to regional prisons and penal farms, according to Catapang.

He said he is eyeing to turn the BuCor property in Muntinlupa into a commercial area, with a food terminal.

“We will make use of the 357-hectare property and convert it into a global city for BuCor to raise funding for our relocation expenses,” Catapang said.

He said the BuCor headquarters would remain in Muntinlupa.

“We will not sell the land in Muntinlupa. We will just lease it so the funding will go to the BuCor modernization program,” Catapang said.

He said he is also planning to relocate informal settlers within the NBP compound.

Catapang expressed hope that businessmen would be interested in investing in the area once it is developed.

A former chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Catapang has decades of experience in public service.

The BuCor has been under fire due to the controversial early release of prisoners and allegations of corruption within the agency.

Catapang replaced Gerald Bantag, who is accused as the mastermind in the murders of broadcast journalist Percy Lapid and the alleged middleman in his kill contract, NBP inmate Cristituto “Jun” Villamor Palaña.