Percy Lapid kin to Bantag, others: Face court of law

FILE PHOTO: Percy Lapid’s brother Roy Mabasa appears before the Department of Justice and subscribes to the complaint-affidavit against people allegedly involved in the murder of his sibling. INQUIRER.net / Tetch Torres-Tupas

MANILA, Philippines — For the family of slain radioman Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa, the journey to justice is far from over as long as former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and the other accused have not faced a court of law.

Lapid’s brother, Roy Mabasa, said Friday that the arrest order issued against Bantag, his deputy Sr. Supt. Ricardo Zulueta, Israel Dimaculangan, Edmon Dimaculangan, and alias Orly or Orlando for the veteran broadcaster’s assassination was a “welcome development.”

READ: Arrest warrant out vs Bantag, Zulueta for assassination of Percy Lapid

“I hope Gerald Bantag et al would heed the call of authorities and present themselves in the court of law,” Mabasa said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

The warrant of arrest issued by the Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Branch 254 was for the non-bailable offense of murder.

Bantag and Zulueta are also wanted for the killing of Cristito “Jun Villamor” Palaña – a New Bilibid Prison inmate who was the alleged middleman in the plot to kill Lapid.

READ: Bantag, aide wanted for slay of Lapid plot ‘middleman’

Lapid is the second journalist killed under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the 197th since 1986. His death was widely condemned by fellow journalists, progressive groups, lawmakers, and even international bodies as they renewed the call to end media violence and killings.

In 2022, the Philippines remained among the worst countries in convicting killers of journalists, according to the Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The CPJ report noted that the killing of Lapid and another tough-talking radio broadcaster, Renato Blanco, under the Marcos administration “raised fears that the culture of violence and impunity will endure.”

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