Percy Lapid was the host of “Lapid Fire” over AM radio station DWBL. (Photo from a video on the Facebook page of Lapid Fire)
MANILA, Philippines — The CCTV footage of the fatal ambush of veteran radio presenter Percival Mabasa, also known as Percy Lapid, has been obtained by the Philippine National Police (PNP), and investigators are currently poring over it in search of clues.
Police Colonel Restituto Arcangel, commander and spokesman of the special investigation task force for the case, said Wednesday that police investigators are still reviewing the clip, which captured Lapid’s assailants committing the crime.
“May tinitingnan po kami na possible suspects na nahagip ng CCTV. Kailangan lang namin pagtagpi-tagpiin iyong mga hawak namin na footage para mabuo namin,” Arcangel told INQUIRER.net over the phone.
(We’re trying to identify the possible suspects that were captured on the CCTV footage. We just need to put together all the footage we’ve obtained to get a clearer picture.)
He noted, however, that the PNP has yet to pin down the identity of the perpetrators through the evidence they have so far collected.
“May mga nakikita lang tayo na posibleng suspek pero wala pa po tayong na-identify,” Arcangel added.
(We’re looking at possible suspects, but we have not yet identified them for sure.)
The PNP has vowed to bring justice for the slain journalist, a vocal critic of the Duterte and Marcos administrations, who was gunned down by a motorcycle-riding armed man at the gate of a Las Piñas City village where he was about to do the podcast of his program on Monday night.
READ: PNP vows to bring justice for slain Percy Lapid; says probe underway
Another suspect, an alleged accomplice, onboard a Toyota Fortuner bumped the rear portion of Lapid’s Toyota Innova before the shooting happened, said the police.
READ: Radio commentator Percy Lapid shot dead in ambush
Lapid hosted a radio news program called Lapid Fire on DWBL 1242, where he was known for his hard-hitting criticisms of the government.
According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, he was the second journalist to have been killed under the Marcos administration.
The first was radio host Rey Blanco, who was stabbed to death in Negros Oriental last September.
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