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NEWS REPORTS 

POLICE REPORTS 

‘If he’s here, we’ll know’: Cordillera PBGen. Dilag on reports that Bantag is hiding in the region

  • Writer: Leonora Lo-oy
    Leonora Lo-oy
  • 4 hours ago
  • 2 min read

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Amid continued speculation that former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gen. Gerald Bantag is hiding in the Cordillera region, Cordillera Police Regional Director PBGen. Ericson Dilag said authorities have no validated information confirming that the former official is in the area.


Bantag has been implicated in the killing of radio broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa in October 2022. He was declared a fugitive in 2023, with the Department of Justice offering a P2-million bounty for his arrest.


In December 2025, BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. claimed that Bantag was hiding in Kalinga and was allegedly being protected by his tribe. He added that authorities were considering arresting him outside the province, citing serious security risks in carrying out an operation within the area.


In January 2026, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla also stated that, based on their latest information, Bantag was still hiding somewhere in the Cordillera region.

However, in an interview with reporters on February 20 at the Police Regional Office–Cordillera (PRO-CAR) headquarters, Dilag clarified that they have yet to receive verified intelligence confirming Bantag’s presence in the region.


He acknowledged that it is possible for a tribe to extend protection to one of its own, but stressed that the police have sufficient informants on the ground who would likely have reported any confirmed sighting.


“So far, we have not received any feedback from our informants. If he were here, we would have likely picked up information about it,” Dilag said.


The regional director assured the public that authorities continue to monitor developments regarding the former BuCor chief. He added that local police units have been instructed to focus on manhunt operations should Bantag’s presence in the region be confirmed.


“Our police units were given instructions to focus on the manhunt against former BuCor chief Bantag in our area,” he was quoted as saying.

 
 
 

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