By Mortz C. Ortigoza
Former Bureau of Corrections
Director General Gerald Bantag was caught lying through his teeth when exposed
by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla that he ordered the excavation
through a deep hole and a tunnel at the compound of the BuCors to foray for the
fabled Yamashita Treasure.
The beleaguered Bantag told the media in November 11 he ordered the excavation
to build a swimming pool because he is a “master scuba diver.”
A horseshit we learned later.
BELEAGUERED suspended former Bureau of Corrections Chief Gerald Bantag (left, photo) and Chicago's Mafia Boss Al Capone. |
Those who vigorously
believed - like his fellow Cordillerans - that Bantag was an upright man and
did not mastermind the murder of acerbic tongue Percy Lapid and Cristito Palaña
would have a second thought about his credibility after his rebuffed from
Remulla.
Can you still remember the legal Latin maxim: Falsus in
uno, falsus in omnibus (False in one thing, false in everything)?
With and without his
credibility, Bantag for me, however, can still weather the storm on the double murder
cases he faces.
The criminal charges filed by
the law enforcers and consolidated by the prosecutors at the DOJ have holes.
Bantag could be exonerated by the Supreme
Court if ever he would be convicted by the Regional Trial Court and the Court
of Appeals.
Without his alleged
butcher (berdugo) Superintendent Ricardo Zulueta – absconded because he was accused to order the
three gang leaders to kill Palana who ordered the murder of Lapid – exposing
Bantag as the master mind, the Court of Appeals (CA) or the Supreme Court –
after five to seven years of litigation will absolve Bantag in case the judge
of the Regional Trial Court ordered his arrest and eventually convicted him.
The C.A or the
Supreme Court will acquit Bantag due to the cardinal principle of “Proof
beyond reasonable doubt”. It means the
evidence presented by the prosecution must produce in the mind of the Court a
moral certainty of the accused's guilt against any cloud of doubt.
Without Zulueta who
had the personal knowledge that Bantag allegedly ordered him to do those
dastardly acts I mentioned above, the case will not stand on the cold
neutrality of a competent judge.
***
Mafia’s Boss Al
Capone
Even if he would not be convicted eventually, he could still suffer the
fate of U.S Mafia’s Boss Al Capone.
Known too as "Scarface", Capone attained notoriety during the
Prohibition era (illegal selling of alcoholic beverages) as the co-founder and
honcho of the mafia’s Chicago Outfit. His seven-year reign as a crime boss
ended when he went to prison at the age of 33.
When Capone replaced syndicate’s godfather Johnny Torrio – after he was almost
killed in a rival gang’s ambush -- the former expanded the bootlegging business
through violence against his nemesis.
He was responsible for the killing of more or less 100 persons that interfere
with his vice and gambling houses in Chicago.
One of the milestones
of his infamy, Capone helped the victories of Republican mayoral candidate
William Hale Thompson in the 1927 electoral derby. Thompson supported the
reopening of illegal saloons that made him a recipient of the mafia's boss $250, 000 election contribution. Thompson beat William Emmett Dever.
The mafia chief backed up to the hilt the mayoralty bet through his bomber
James Belcastro. The factotum bombed to death 15 of Thompson's opponents.
Belcastro was accused too of murdering lawyer Octavius Granady, an African
American who challenged Thompson for the African American votes.
Capone was accused too of the 1926 murder of Assistant State Attorney William
H. McSwiggin, the 1928 murders of chief investigator Ben Newmark and former
mentor Frankie Yale.
The end of his infamous career started when he was suspected for ordering the
massacre of seven rival gang’s members dubbed as the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day
Massacre.
In the wake of the carnage, Walter A. Strong, publisher of the Chicago Daily
News, asked his friend President Herbert Hoover for federal intervention to
mitigate Chicago's lawlessness that went haywire.
The federal authorities became intent on jailing Capone and charged him with 22
counts of tax evasion. He was convicted of five counts in 1931.
The Scarface – whose life story became a model of mafia flicks like his snazzy coat and tie dressing - was jailed in
May 1932 at Atlanta U.S. Penitentiary and in August 1934 at the Alcatraz Federal
Penitentiary off the coast of San Francisco, California.
***
Now! Where’s Gerald
Bantag on this Al Capone’s equation? Not on the number of killings in the
slammer because the mafia boss’ 100 people killed would be a child’s play on
Bantag's 3,002 dead con men - many mysteriously - from his 2019 to 2021 stints at the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa.
Incase Bantag escapes conviction in the murders of Lapid and Palaña, he can be convicted and be jailed – through direct witnesses like
Remulla – that he ordered the illegal digging at the expense of the government.
Here are some of the law
provisions that can be used against him:
- Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, treasure hunting
in government properties or portions of the public domain shall not be allowed,
except upon prior authority of the President of the Philippines, according to
the Marcosian Law in the 1980s (Presidential Decree No. 1726-A – Providing
Guidelines on Treasure Hunting).
- The Anti-Graft & Corrupt Practices Act provides:
(a) Persuading, inducing or influencing
another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and
regulations duly promulgated by competent authority… (Section 3).
Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government
(paragraph e, Section 3)
h) Directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any
business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or
takes part in his official capacity, or in which he is prohibited by the
Constitution or by any law from having any interest (Section3).
Section 9. Penalties for violations. — (a) Any public officer or private
person committing any of the unlawful acts or omissions enumerated in Sections
3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for not less than
six years and one month nor more than fifteen years, perpetual disqualification
from public office, and confiscation or forfeiture in favor of the Government
of any prohibited interest and unexplained wealth manifestly out of proportion
to his salary and other lawful income.
READ MY OTHER BLOG:
The Lethal, Costly Weapons of a Cobra
MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA
I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials's idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.
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