PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has named former Armed Forces chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. as the new director general of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
The President signed the appointment paper of Catapang on Thursday, March 23, 2023, according to a transmittal document from Malaca?ang.
“By virtue hereof, you may qualify and perform the duties of the office,” the appointment paper read.
A retired military chief, Catapang replaced former BuCor head Gerald Bantag, who was suspended in October last year after the death of inmate Jun Villamor inside the New Bilibid Prison.
Villamor is an alleged middleman in the killing of radio broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa in Las Pi?as on Oct. 3, 2022.
Prior to his appointment to the BuCor, Catapang served as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from July 2014 to July 2015.
He was AFP vice chief of staff, commander of the Tarlac-based Northern Luzon Command and of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.
