‘Plunderer’ to head BuCor Palace stands by now retired Gen. Pangilinan
MALACAÑANG on Thursday stood by its appointment of a former military general as the new chief of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) despite plunder charges being faced by a former official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that President Benigno Aquino 3rd disregarded the corruption allegations against Gaudencio Pangilinan because the President felt that the retired general possessed the ability to implement changes in the corrections bureau.
“The President believed that that with (Pangilinan’s) experience and expertise in counter-intelligence, he would be able to initiate or make the necessary reforms in BuCor,” he told reporters during a press briefing.
Lacierda appealed to the public to suspend its judgment on the new BuCor chief, who is “presumed innocent until proved guilty” of the plunder raps against him.
“Paano naman po ang pagkakataon niyang magsilbi (How about giving him the opportunity to serve)? Remember, nasa AFP po siya ng maraming taon, wala ho tayong naririnig na alingawngaw (Remember, he was in the AFP for many years, we have not heard of any accusation of wrongdoing against him). His leadership was never in question so we believe in his competence,” the Malacañang spokesman said.
“Again, this [plunder case] came out very recently. This can be disproved by Mr. Pangilinan or proved by Col. Rabusa. It is up to the judicial system to resolve that,” Lacierda added.
Pangilinan is a respondent in a plunder complaint filed by retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa, who claimed that the new chief of the corrections bureau had allegedly received P88.2 million in conversion of military funds by top AFP officials.
Lacierda, who retracted his earlier statement that the retired general might not be liable for plunder, said that Pangilinan has filed a counter-affidavit on the graft charges against him.
“We believe in his competence, in his ability to reform the bureau and, if it’s a matter of counter-evidence, it’s something that can be resolved,” he added.
Marching orders
Pangilinan has been ordered by President Aquino to act on general reforms in the bureau upon his assumption of office.
“He [Mr. Aquino] would like Mr. Pangilinan to really go into the bottom of all the shenanigans in the bureau . . . Iyong mga nakakapuslit, mga bisita-bisita, mga pag alis-alis, iyon ang kailangang asikasuhin ni Mr. Pangilinan (The President would like Mr. Pangilinan to address irregularities in BuCor .
. . Cases where inmates are allowed to go out without authority, those who are allowed visitation rights, those are the things that Mr. Pangilinan must attend to),” Lacierda said, referring to rampant violations of prison rules.
The Palace spokesman clarified that Pangilinan was not closely linked to the President or to the so-called kakampi (allies), kaklase (classmates) and kabarilan (shooting buddies) of Mr. Aquino.
Gazmin protégé
The newly appointed chief of the corrections bureau is a protege of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
Pangilinan, also known as “Boy Gee” to his relatives and friends, retired from the military as commander of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), which is based in Tarlac City, the home province of the President.
As Nolcom chief, the member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1979 had a three-star rank.
Pangilinan served as intelligence officer and comptroller of Gazmin when the now Defense chief was still in active military service.
It was Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who administered the oath of office to Pangilinan on Thursday afternoon.
Shortly after Nolcom commander and Lt. Gen. Ricardo David was named AFP chief of staff, Pangilinan succeeded him.
David himself is from Tarlac.
Pangilinan retired on July 25 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Meanwhile, employees of BuCor welcomed his appointment, which came after two months after the bureau was placed under Manuel Co, also the current chief of the Presidential Parole Administration, as Officer-in-Charge (OIC).
Co was appointed OIC after his predecessor, Ernesto Diokno, succumbed to pressure and resigned after the much-publicized caper of homicide convict and former Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste of Batangas province.
Celso Bravo, designated assistant superintendent for administration of National Bilibid Prisons (NBP), one of the state penitentiaries under BuCor, said that they would welcome Pangilinan and see what his programs would be in attaining the goals of the corrections bureau.
During a separate interview, a source at BuCor office, also located at NBP’s office in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila), praised Co for gaining the trust of the employees of BuCor and New Bilibid Prisons (NBP).
Co, the source said, was able to expedite the release of some 50 convicts as a result of improvements in the filing of records, also known as carpeta.
Pangilinan was expected to report to Muntinlupa City today where a technical committee formed by the Justice department would present to him a list of needed reforms at the corrections bureau and its seven penal colonies, including the NBP.
Aside from Pangilinan, the other respondents in the plunder complaint of Rabusa include former military comptrollers Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot.
With report from William B. Depasupil
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