The Department of Justice (DOJ) is poised to restrict suspended Bureau of Corrections Director-General Gerald Bantag and Superintendent Ricardo Zulueta from leaving the country.

Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said the department would apply for precautionary hold departure order against the two prison officials.

On Monday, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police filed complaints against Bantag and Zulueta in relation to the murder of broadcaster Percy Lapid and alleged middleman Jun Villamor. 

Asked whether issuance of immigration lookout bulletin order is also necessary, Remulla said it was no longer be needed since Bantag and Zulueta, being public officials, couldn’t leave the country without a travel authority.

“Ang mas mahalaga lang talaga dito we are already filing a hold departure order. I already instructed the staff to start,” he said in a chance interview with reporters. 

Precautionary hold departure order is issued by court and an application for its issuance may be filed by a prosecutor. It aims to prevent any attempt by a person suspected of a crime to leave the Philippines. 

Immigration lookout bulletin order, on the other hand, is issued by the DOJ and the Bureau of Immigration, and it aims to closely monitor any attempt by a person suspected of a crime to leave the country. 

Photo Credit: DOJ