Foul play not ruled out in death of alleged middleman in Percy Lapid slay
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Thursday fumed over the possibility of foul play in the death of one of the alleged middlemen in the fatal ambush of Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier confirmed that the 42-year-old inmate at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, believed to be an intermediary in Lapid’s brutal murder, died in the prison hospital on Tuesday, October 18.
“Sa nangyaring ito, hinayang kami. Ngayon, merong autopsy na may ginagawa ngayon at malaman muna namin ang autopsy dahil once talagang merong foul play dito, talagang galit kami. Galit na galit kami. We are demanding, kung mangyari man iyon, talagang ang manangot ay dapat managot,” he said in a press conference.
(We feel regret over what happened. Now, there is an autopsy being done, and should we find out that there was foul play here, we will be angry. We will be very furious. If so, we are demanding that the one behind this crime really be held responsible.)
Abalos, however, assured the public that this is not a dead end in Lapid’s slay case.
“Nag-uusap-usap kami rito kung anong magiging epekto nito sa kaso. May mga testigo pa naman tayo ngayon na nandito. Huwag kayong mag-alala,” he said.
(We are talking about how this will affect the case, but we still have our witnesses here, so don’t worry.)
Abalos vowed that police investigators will “double time” combing through the obtained evidence to hunt down the mastermind behind Lapid’s brazen killing.
“Ang importante rito, matunton natin iyong iba – iyong Dimaculangan naman (What’s important is we find the others involved – the Dimaculangans),” he added.
He was referring to siblings Israel and Edmon Dimaculangan who, along with a certain “Orly” or “Orlando,” were linked to the crime, according to confessed gunman Joel Escorial.
It was also through Escorial’s extrajudicial confession that police were able to pin down the supposed middlemen which, he claimed, were “from inside Bilibid.”
The second alleged middleman is being secured in a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility, said the police.
Abalos guaranteed that Escorial is “in very safe hands” under the custody of the Philippine National Police.
Last October 3, Lapid – the tough-talking voice behind DWBL 1242’s “Lapid Fire” – was shot dead near the gate of a Las Piñas City subdivision at around 8:30 p.m.
He is the second journalist to be killed under the Marcos administration and the 198th since 1986.
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