P550,000 fee to kill Percy Lapid likely sourced from shady trades in Bilibid – lawyer

FILE PHOTO: BuCor personnel wearing face masks at the New Bilibid in Muntinlupa City. INQUIRER / LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — The P550,00 payment for the killing of radioman Percy Lapid probably came from illegal businesses inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

The Mabasa family lawyer revealed this Tuesday, noting that the money could not have also come from just one person.

“To my understanding, it was raised inside the Bilibid, through their businesses, and proof of that is the, you know, lately, there have been confiscations of more than 7,000 cases of beer in cans, which was being sold at P1,000 per can,”  said Atty. Danilo Pelagio in an interview with ANC.

The leader of the Happy Go Lucky gang in the NBP or Bilibid paid Joel Escorial a P550,000 “kill fee.” The same group was recently found selling beer within the country’s main prison, Pelagio said.

READ: Bilibid gangs kept beer to last many Oktoberfests

In an ambush interview also on Tuesday, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said they are still investigating the illegal contraband trade in the NBP.

Remulla also said that the DOJ is awaiting the report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which has previously confirmed that P550,000 was deposited into Escorial’s account. The DOJ is also tracking where the money came from, he added.

READ: BuCor seizes beer, shabu inside New Bilibid Prison

“Pero kinukuha namin nga ‘yung final report ng AMLC. Kasi nga with the filing of these cases, the AMLC is now free to investigate because the cases are there already,” Remulla said.

(We are still getting the final report of the AMLC. Because with the filing of these cases, the AMLC is now free to investigate because the cases are already there).

But Pelagio pointed out that transactions involving Escorial’s bank account were made even before October 3, when Lapid (real name: Percival Mabasa) was killed in an ambush in Las Piñas City. Specifically, the lawyer said, the bank transactions occurred from September 17 to October 7.

“The deposits to the account of Mr. Escorial happened before the killing, but even after the killing, there were additional deposits made,” Pelagio said.

RELATED STORIES

Murder raps filed vs Bantag, others linked to Percy Lapid slay

What we know so far: Bantag and those linked to Percy Lapid, middleman slays

KGA/abc