JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday claimed that a second surrender feeler was sent through one of his friends by suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag who is wanted for allegedly masterminding the killing of radio broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa and an inmate who allegedly acted as middleman identified as Cristito Palana Villamor.
However, Remulla expressed doubts on Bantag’s sincerity to surrender to authorities and undergo trial for the two murders.
“There were two feelers sent. One through a Cabinet official and another through one of my friends but it looks like they’re not really serious in surrendering,” Remulla told reporters in an interview.
Earlier, Remulla said Bantag sent his first surrender feeler through a Cabinet official whom he declined to identify.
The Mabasa family, through its spokesperson lawyer Berteni Causing, previously said they doubted the surrender feeler, adding it could be another delaying tactic of Bantag.
When asked if Bantag set some conditions for his surrender, Remulla said: “One of the topics being discussed was the place of detention and we are amenable to special arrangements for DG [director general] Bantag and Mr. [Ricardo] Zulueta.”
“I think they are trying to avoid being put into BuCor for obvious reasons,” Remulla added.
Bantag and Zulueta are the subjects of warrants of arrest issued by the regional trial courts of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa in connection with the Lapid and Villamor murders.
They were also the subjects of a hold departure order (HDO) issued by the court to prevent them from leaving the country.
Remulla said the second surrender feeler from Bantag was made to Remulla’s friend from law enforcement six days ago while he was in the United States as part of the official delegation of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
He said he believes Bantag’s feeler covers Zulueta as the two are a “package deal.”