Suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag has come forward to admit that he was the one behind the mysterious tunnel discovered inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa.
This comes after Bilibid officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang revealed last week that they have found a 200 meters wide and 30 meters deep hole inside the prison. He said they learned that the digging of the tunnel started about one year and two months ago.
However, Bantag, who was suspended from his post amid his alleged involvement in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid, said he ordered the excavation to build a 'deep' swimming pool because he is a "master scuba diver."
"Alam ko ‘yon, iyong hukay na ‘yon. Ako rin nagpahukay no’n. Diver ako eh, scuba diver. Ang plano namin do’n, deep swimming pool," Bantag said in an interview with News5.
(I know that hole. I ordered that excavation. I am a diver, scuba diver. We planned to make a deep swimming pool.)
According to Bantag, their goal behind the excavation is to build the deepest swimming pool in the country's capital region.
"Malalim ‘yon, gagawin sana naming swimming pool. Ang dami naming scuba divers do’n. Master scuba diver ako eh... gusto namin pinaka-deepest swimming pool sana dito sa Metro Manila siguro," he added.
(That’s deep, we wanted to make it a swimming pool. There are a lot of scuba divers there like me. I am a master scuba diver... we want to make that the deepest swimming pool in Metro Manila, probably.)
He also refuted the claims of Catapang, who previously said that the hole could have been dug as an escape tunnel.
"Kaya sabi nitong Catapang, gagawing tunnel? Ang layo-layo no’n. Ano siya minero para makagawa ng tunnel? ‘Di ba? Boplaks din eh,” the suspended corrections chief said.
(Catapang said, it would be a tunnel? That’s too far. Is he a miner to create a tunnel? Right? He is dumb.)
Last week, authorities filed murder raps against Bantag and BuCor Directorate for Security and Operations Supt. Ricardo Zulueta.
Both of them were tagged as "masterminds" behind both killings of Lapid and inmate Jun Villamor.
