(GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / INQUIRER photo)
MANILA, Philippines — The Percy Lapid slay case is still standing on “thin ice,” former Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Monday, noting its “chilling effect” on press freedom.
Drilon, who is also a former justice secretary, said that the testimony of self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial cannot stand alone and needs to be corroborated.
“The case for the prosecution still stands on a thin ice. Why do I say that?… Unless there are other pieces of evidence which I am not aware of, the only evidence is the testimony of [Joel] Escorial,” Drilon pointed out out on ANC Headstart.
“The police investigators and the Department of Justice must validate this confession with corroborative evidence… which is crucial because the case cannot stand on the testimony alone of Escorial,” he added.
According to Drilon, the case will “fall into pieces” should Escorial recant his testimony soon.
“The narration of the gunman, at this state, must be viewed with caution. Corroborative evidence must be gathered because everybody is asking, ‘is there a wider conspiracy here?’
“The alleged middleman is killed, and the alleged middleman is killed under mysterious circumstances,” the former senator noted.
Drilon further called on his former Senate colleagues to allow authorities to complete their probe. He made the comment after a resolution was filed to look into the journalist’s killing.
“I appeal to my former colleagues, allow the police to finish their investigation. I do not know what a Senate investigation can do at this point.
“I am not yet convinced that the police is not doing its job. It has to do more investigation but at this stage, I do not see the need for the Senate investigation,” he said.
Lapid, Percival Mabasa in real life, was a broadcaster critical of the government.
He was ambushed on October 3 in Las Piñas City.
Escorial admitted that he shot Lapid based on an order inside the New Bilibid Prison. The alleged middleman, however, was reported dead following Escorial’s confession. —with reports from Alyssa Joy Quevedo
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