BANTAG REMAINS ELUSIVE — NBI

THE National Bureau of Investigation on Friday raided the suspected safehouses of former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag but failed to find the embattled ex-BuCor official.

Armed with arrest warrants, NBI agents swooped down into two houses in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Caloocan City but did not find Bantag.

Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 and Las Piñas RTC Branch 254 issued warrants of arrest for Bantag and former BuCor officer Ricardo Zulueta for two counts of murder.

Zulueta, however, died on March 15 due to cerebrovascular disease intracranial hemorrhage.

Bantag had been tagged as the mastermind in the killing of broadcaster Percival Mabasa or Percy Lapid and prisoner Cristito Villamor Palana.

In 2022, the broadcaster was shot dead near his home after making comments online that appeared to link Bantag to corruption.

Bantag was also accused of ordering the killing of  Palana, the alleged middleman, who allegedly passed the kill order to the gunman to kill Mabasa.

The former BuCor official denied any connection or role in the killings.

A P2 million  reward was announced by the Department of Justice for any information on Bantag’s whereabouts.