Former BuCor officials Bantag and Zulueta on BI hold departure list over Villamor-Lapid murder case

Former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Chief Gerald Bantag and former BuCor Deputy Officer Ricardo Zulueta are now on the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) hold departure list. This is due to a Muntinlupa City court issuing a hold departure order upon the request of state prosecutors to prevent them from leaving the country during the pending case involving the murder of Jun Villamor, the alleged middleman in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid. Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Friday that the HDO was immediately encoded in their centralized system, visible to their immigration officers at all ports nationwide. They will be prevented from departing without prior approval from the courts if encountered in any airport or seaport. Bantag and Zulueta have separate warrants of arrest issued by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 and the Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Branch 254 in connection with the killings of Villamor and Lapid, respectively. Lapid was shot dead by two suspects onboard a motorcycle in Las Piñas on October 3, 2022. Meanwhile, Villamor died at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa on October 18, and an autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun showed the remains of Villamor to have a “history of asphyxia by plastic bag suffocation.” Despite the allegations against him, Bantag claims that they are fabricated.