Jesus Crispin Remulla —RICHARD A. REYES
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday said that Cristito Villamor Palaña, an alleged key conspirator in the killing of radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa, could have also been murdered and an investigation is under way.
Palaña died on Oct. 18, a day after confessed gunman Joel Escorial surrendered to the police and pointed to him as the “middleman” who called him on the phone to kill Mabasa for P550,000. Escorial identified him as one of his five accomplices.
“[W]e’re not talking about one murder case here … The Jun Villamor case may be a possible murder case, too,” Remulla told reporters. “That’s why we’re also investigating that. It’s our obligation to do that.”
Jun Villamor is Palaña’s prison name.
President Marcos on Wednesday ordered a thorough investigation of Palaña’s death, saying he was “not satisfied” that the inmate died of natural causes as there were ways to kill a man without leaving a trace.
Mr. Marcos also said that the mastermind of the Mabasa killing must be found.
The police and the family of Mabasa believe that Palaña, who had been communicating with his sister “Marissa” about the plot to kill Mabasa using the Messenger app on the phone, could have identified the mastermind.
‘Dying declaration’
“It’s too much of a coincidence that a person has a dying declaration saying that he will be killed, and then he dies. You conclude that it’s a no coincidence,” Remulla said.
The justice secretary on Wednesday said the messages sent by Palaña to Marissa, which indicated that he could die anytime after Escorial surrendered, were a “form of a dying declaration.”
Remulla said these messages were “an exception to the hearsay rule when he said ’pag namatay ako, ilabas n’yo ito’ (if I die put this out),” referring to what the New Bilibid Prison inmate disclosed to his sister about Mabasa’s killing.
Joint PNP-NBI probe
“He was conscious that he was in danger the time that he texted that and that was around two hours before he was declared dead. Very, very important,” Remulla said on Wednesday.
Marissa said in an interview with “TV Patrol” on Monday that her brother told her that the leaders of three prison gangs—Sigue-Sigue Sputnik, Happy Go Lucky and Batang City Jail—ordered Mabasa’s killing. Her brother said the gang leaders in turn got their order “from inside the office … there in Bilibid.”
The National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police have started a joint investigation of Palaña’s death, Remulla said.
“This is the first time probably in a long time where the NBI and PNP are cooperating in an investigation together. We have to bring in the best of all sides so that we will know the truth,” he said.
Remulla said Marissa and another sister were among at least 10 persons of interest that the authorities have in custody as witnesses or suspects in the Mabasa killing.
At least four of them have already given their statements but Remulla declined to give details.
The NBI autopsied the body of Palaña after it had been embalmed. A second autopsy has been conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, whose report is expected by Friday.
Money laundering trail
Remulla also said that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) had also been asked to work together with the NBI in looking into the bank records of those involved in the transfer of the P550,000 supposedly paid to Mabasa’s killers.
“There is a trail. We’ll follow the money,” Remulla said.
According to the passbook that he had turned over to investigators, Escorial received the entire P550,000 in his bank account. Acting as paymaster, the alleged gunman deposited money to his five accomplices’ bank accounts, the PNP said.
The police, however, did not specify how much each had received or whether all the money had already been paid out.
Cell phones
With the AMLC’s help, the police expects to establish the origin of money, according to PNP spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo.
Fajardo also said the investigators were making headway in their evidence-gathering after getting hold of the cell phones of Escorial and Palaña’s sister.
They have not been able to recover the cell phone used by Palaña to call Escorial to contract the hit job, she said.
The two phones had been handed to the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) for forensic examination, Fajardo told the Inquirer.
She said that according to ACG director Police Brig. Gen. Joel Doria, the examination of the two phones was finished on Thursday but he could not yet disclose the findings.
Gregorio Catapang Jr., the newly installed officer in charge of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), said on Wednesday that they had not found Palaña’s phone.
Suspended BuCor chief Gerald Bantag, said he ordered his staff to retrieve the personal effects of Palaña only on Oct. 20—two days after the inmate’s death, “since that’s the only time that I learned that he was a person of interest in the Percy Lapid case.”
“They searched through his belongings, but they did not find any cell phone,” he added.
READ: Media slay probe twist: Jailed ‘middleman’ dead