Bantag eludes arrest anew in All Saints’ Day operation

LAMUT, Ifugao, Philippines — Former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag once again eluded arrest, with a joint police operation failing to find him at a poultry farm in Barangay Pugol here yesterday.

Intelligence reports had placed Bantag at the poultry farm in Sitio Alupapan, allegedly posing as a worker. Authorities, led by Ifugao police chief Col. Jeremias Oyawon, launched Oplan Raniag to serve the warrant of arrest.

However, personnel of the Ifugao Police Provincial Office and 1501st maneuver company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 15 found no trace of the former prison chief during the operation.

Bantag is wanted in connection with the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid and his alleged involvement in the death of New Bilibid Prison inmate Jun Villamor. He has continued to elude authorities amid the ongoing manhunt.

Lamut Mayor Mariano Buyagawan Jr., in a social media post, expressed hope that Bantag would be arrested without violence, as he commended police for acting on the intelligence report.

Buyagawan urged the public to support authorities in ensuring that Bantag is arrested and made to face the charges against him.