FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The killing of veteran broadcaster Percival Mabasa or Percy Lapid is not yet considered a “case closed,” the Philippine National Police (PNP) clarified on Monday.
PNP spokesman Police Col. Redrico Maranan said the investigation continues since the mastermind behind Lapid’s slay is still at large.
“Ang kaso ni Percy Mabasa ay hindi pa case closed. Hindi pa rin siya case solved sapagkat hindi pa natin naaabot ‘yung talagang pinaka-mastermind,” he said in a public briefing.
(The case of Percy Mabasa is not yet closed nor solved because we haven’t caught the mastermind.)
“So, patuloy ang pagtitiyaga, pagtatrabaho ng ating mga imbestigador ng ating mga pulis na nakatutok diyan nang sa ganon nga ay dumating na ito at humantong na talaga doon sa tinatawag nating logical conclusion,” Maranan added.
(So, our investigators continuously do their work so that we can arrive at the logical conclusion of the case.)
The clarification came after Southern Police District director Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft said the case is already deemed solved since suspects have already been identified, including the confessed gunman Joel Escorial.
Escorial surrendered to authorities earlier this month and confessed to killing Lapid. He has also named three alleged accomplices.
Authorities earlier announced that a certain Cristito Villamor, who Escorial identified as one of the alleged middlemen who coordinated the hit on Lapid, had died inside the New Bilibid Prison.
Another middleman, allegedly a certain Christopher Bacoto, has likewise been identified. — Trisha Manalaysay, trainee