Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag refuted Thursday the allegations that they used COVID-19 to cover the alleged “execution” of inmates inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Bantag stood firm in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV that the recent deaths of 21 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), including 9 high-profile inmates, were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ang confirmed [COVID-19 cases] natin na total ay nasa 258. Ngayon naka-recover ang 230. Eh sana patay lahat ‘yun. Ano ako, si Satanas na para sabihin ko kay COVID na patayin lahat ‘yan?” Bantag said.
(Our confirmed [COVID-19 cases] total is 258. Now 230 have recovered. They could have been all dead if their allegations were true. Who am I, Satan? To tell COVID to kill all of them?)
“Paano nila sasabihin na ganun[how can they say that]?” he added.
Bantag made the response when asked to comment about the allegations of inmates’ relatives that the prisoners were actually executed and did not die of the virus inside the national penitentiary.
Convicted kidnapper and high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian was among inmates who reportedly died of COVID-19 and were immediately cremated following the protocols of the Department of Health.
Also read: DOJ summons BuCor chief over death of Jaybee Sebastian, high-profile inmates
Sebastian played a significant role during the Senate investigation on the alleged involvement of Senator Leila de Lima, who is now detained. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II accused Sebastian of running a three-year funding campaign to support de Lima’s senatorial bid in 2016 in exchange for their continuous drug operation inside NBP.
BuCor chief Bantag refuted the suspicions surrounding the sudden death of Sebastian saying they could provide proof that the inmates indeed died of the respiratory disease.
BuCor then showed photos of convicted kidnapper Jaybee Sebastian before he was cremated.
The agency also presented the COVID-19 swab test results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, as promised by BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag in a separate interview.
Dr. Henry Fabro, the New Bilibid Prison Hospital director, personally read Jaybee Sebastian’s cause of death, which was myocardial infarction as a complication of the new coronavirus.
According to Atty. Hobert, BuCor legal officer, they are also ready to present the deceased inmates’ medical records if needed.