It is still not certain what happened to the missing inmate at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), Michael Cataroja, after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla admitted that the information he received that his body was found without a head was “fake” news.
Remulla made the confession during a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, which was also attended by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr., and BuCor Deputy Director Angelina Bautista.
In Sandra Aguinaldo’s report on GMA News “24 Oras” this Thursday, it was said that the secretary also shared the false information that reached Remulla to journalists.
“Na-fake news po ako na nahanap ang katawan na putol ang ulo. ‘Yon po ang unang sinabi sa akin, na dumating po sa aking feed nung isang madaling araw,” the secretary explained to the congressmen.
According to Remulla, the information or “feed” he was looking at came from the department.
Remulla did not mention where such false information came from.
It can be recalled that aside from Remulla, Bautista also told reporters that a body was found in the septic tank of the Bilibid dormitory.
Decapitated inmate found in Bilibid septic tank ‘fake news’ – Remulla
The body was allegedly tracked down with the help of a K-9 or dog that smelled Cataroja’s body and sat down when it arrived at the septic tank.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation clarified that only a piece of bone and a man’s underwear were found in Poso Negro.
It is said that it is still being checked whether the bone is human or animal.
It is still unknown what happened to Cataroja, who has been missing since July 15.
According to Bautista, Cataroja’s family allegedly left Rizal and boarded a truck.
It was also learned that all the septic tanks in Bilibid have not yet been opened because inmates need to be transferred first.
“Ang status po niya (Cataroja) ay missing. Hangga’t di natin nabubuksan ang lahat ng septic tank at nagagalugad ang buong NBP, our declaration is he is missing,” said Catapang, who said there are eight septic tanks in the jail.
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