Percy Lapid’s family can’t speak yet of forgiveness for gunman – brother

Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. speaks to Joel Escorial, the confessed gunman in the killing of Percival Mabasa, in a news conference at Camp Crame, Quezon City on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022.

MANILA, Philippines — “As of now, we cannot talk about forgiveness because that’s far from being in the vocabulary of the family,” said veteran journalist Roy Mabasa, brother of slain radio commentator Percival Mabasa, more popularly known as Percy Lapid of  “Lapid Fire.”

“What Percy’s family is now going through is something you can’t describe. No amount of words can describe the suffering of the children and wife of Percy,” Mabasa, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Earlier, the confessed gunman, Joel Escorial, had asked forgiveness from the family during a news conference arranged by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) after his voluntary surrender.

Escorial also tagged three others behind Lapid’s death who, he said, were acting on orders from someone inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

Mabasa then urged the police to “test the credibility” of Escorial by corroborating his account of the shooting incident through a crime scene walkthrough.

“I cannot forgive someone who I can’t be sure is really the suspect. God might get angry at me. That’s next to impossible. I just want to determine first who really is the suspect,” Mabasa said.

Lapid, known for his hard-hitting commentaries on DWBL 1242’s “Lapid Fire,” was gunned down near the gate of a Las Piñas City subdivision on Oct. 3.

His death renewed calls from fellow journalists, organizations, and lawmakers to put an end to media killings.

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