Bantag dug in Bilibid for Yamashita treasure, DOJ chief says

[Mike J]

This is hilarious, as the locals say "only in Da Philippines".  

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2022/11/18/Bantag-Bilibid-Yamashita-treasure.html

Instead of a supposed excavation for a diving pool inside the New Bilibid Prison, suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag started the project inside the national penitentiary to search for the Yamashita treasure, according to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Remulla on Friday said the information came from Bantag during their conversation back in August or September.

"That was supposed to be a treasure hunt for Yamashita originally. I was told by General Bantag about it, and I told him to stop it," he said.

Remulla added, "Ridiculous na. We’re wasting government money and time. Di ko alam if ginamit nya yun [I don't know if he used it]. You’re not there to seek treasure. You’re there to run the corrections of the department."

He was referring to the alleged war loot purportedly buried in the country by Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita and his forces during the waning days of World War II.

Bantag, in a television interview this week, said the supposed swimming pool was built for the training of jail personnel for disaster response.

Remulla said President Bongbong Marcos did not give approval for Bantag to enter a joint venture agreement (JVA) with a private company ATOM for the project.

"There’s unsolicited proposal of that nature. It’s supposed to go to Swiss challenge. There are rules for JVAs and unsolicited proposals. I cannot accept that. I don’t want to privatize Bilibid," the top justice official said.

Remulla's predecessor, now-Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, said he issued the recommendation to suspend the deal until it has been reviewed by the agency. He said they later found out that the "unsolicited proposal failed to comply with certain legal requirements," which was later cascaded to the executive secretary.

DENR probe
Meanwhile, current BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang said the Environment Department has also looked into the massive excavation project.

Catapang said the agency observed that the pile of soil near the excavation site is not enough to cover the hole — prompting authorities to question where the rest of the land went.

"Kasi kino-compute nila ‘yung volume and they are saying na may mga panambak na inilabas. Nabawasan ang panambak (Because they were computing the volume and they are saying that less soil remained). And it might not be sufficient enough to cover the diggings and making the grounds stable again," Catapang said in a separate interview.

Remulla, for his part, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is ready to cooperate if the Office of the Ombudsman decides to conduct an investigation into the alleged anomalies inside Bilibid.

Bantag vs. Remulla
Bantag was preemptively suspended after his name was involved in the ambush of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid and the death of the alleged middleman in his murder. He is facing a murder complaint for the deaths of Lapid and Jun Villamor.

Remulla denied the allegations of Bantag that he allegedly ordered the release of an inmate under the government's witness protection program, which Bantag claimed is linked to the hitman in Lapid's killing.

"I have no knowledge of that," he said.

He also refused to react to Bantag's challenge for him to resign from his post due to lack of moral ascendancy related to the killing of Lapid and his son's drug case.

[Old55]

Nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to top level PNP crocodiles.

Bantag most likely knows too much to be prosecuted. This will all simply go away.

[BrettGC]

You can't make this shit up....

[Snowy79]

7 hours ago, Mike J said:

This is hilarious, as the locals say "only in Da Philippines".  

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2022/11/18/Bantag-Bilibid-Yamashita-treasure.html

Instead of a supposed excavation for a diving pool inside the New Bilibid Prison, suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag started the project inside the national penitentiary to search for the Yamashita treasure, according to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Remulla on Friday said the information came from Bantag during their conversation back in August or September.

"That was supposed to be a treasure hunt for Yamashita originally. I was told by General Bantag about it, and I told him to stop it," he said.

Remulla added, "Ridiculous na. We’re wasting government money and time. Di ko alam if ginamit nya yun [I don't know if he used it]. You’re not there to seek treasure. You’re there to run the corrections of the department."

He was referring to the alleged war loot purportedly buried in the country by Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita and his forces during the waning days of World War II.

Bantag, in a television interview this week, said the supposed swimming pool was built for the training of jail personnel for disaster response.

Remulla said President Bongbong Marcos did not give approval for Bantag to enter a joint venture agreement (JVA) with a private company ATOM for the project.

"There’s unsolicited proposal of that nature. It’s supposed to go to Swiss challenge. There are rules for JVAs and unsolicited proposals. I cannot accept that. I don’t want to privatize Bilibid," the top justice official said.

Remulla's predecessor, now-Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, said he issued the recommendation to suspend the deal until it has been reviewed by the agency. He said they later found out that the "unsolicited proposal failed to comply with certain legal requirements," which was later cascaded to the executive secretary.

DENR probe
Meanwhile, current BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang said the Environment Department has also looked into the massive excavation project.

Catapang said the agency observed that the pile of soil near the excavation site is not enough to cover the hole — prompting authorities to question where the rest of the land went.

"Kasi kino-compute nila ‘yung volume and they are saying na may mga panambak na inilabas. Nabawasan ang panambak (Because they were computing the volume and they are saying that less soil remained). And it might not be sufficient enough to cover the diggings and making the grounds stable again," Catapang said in a separate interview.

Remulla, for his part, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is ready to cooperate if the Office of the Ombudsman decides to conduct an investigation into the alleged anomalies inside Bilibid.

Bantag vs. Remulla
Bantag was preemptively suspended after his name was involved in the ambush of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid and the death of the alleged middleman in his murder. He is facing a murder complaint for the deaths of Lapid and Jun Villamor.

Remulla denied the allegations of Bantag that he allegedly ordered the release of an inmate under the government's witness protection program, which Bantag claimed is linked to the hitman in Lapid's killing.

"I have no knowledge of that," he said.

He also refused to react to Bantag's challenge for him to resign from his post due to lack of moral ascendancy related to the killing of Lapid and his son's drug case.

Someone is going to be in the deep end for that. 

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, Mike J said:

Because they were computing the volume and they are saying that less soil remained). And it might not be sufficient enough to cover the diggings and making the grounds stable again

It's obvious that they got the treasure and made up the swimming pool story.

[Mike J]

5 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Someone is going to be in the deep end for that. 

Took me a minute. 

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, Mike J said:

Took me a minute. 

It almost flopped then!