MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice has put suspended Corrections chief Gerald Bantag on preventive suspension for 90 days more without pay for allowing convicted kidnapper Jovito Palparan to appear in a televised interview without clearance.
Palparan, also a former congressman and a retired general, was interviewed at the New Bilibid Prison on March 30, 2022 for a program on the SMNI media network.
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The interview also prompted calls to revoke SMNI's license to broadcast on free TV for allowing Palparan — who was convicted of kidnapping in 2018 and is serving his sentence for the kidnapping and disappearance of two University of the Philippines students — to go on air to supposedly spread false information and to defame people, and for failing to be fair in its reporting.
READ: SMNI shutdown sought over Palparan interview, red-tagging
In documents signed by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla dated January 17, the DOJ noted that the interview was conducted without getting approval for PDL interview and did not comply with the rules on the conduct of interviews.
Bantag was given 10 days to file his response to the formal charges.
"Failure on the respondent’s part to submit his answer within the prescribed period shall be construed as a waiver thereof, and this department shall immediately conduct the formal investigation upon notice of the scheduled date of hearing," Remulla said.