File picture of DWBL radio commentator Percy Lapid taken from a video on the Facebook page titled Percy Lapid Fire)
MANILA, Philippines–-The Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court has sentenced three convicts of New Bilibid Prison two to eight years of imprisonment.
The verdict was handed down on the persons who had served as accessories in the murder of broadcaster Percival Mabasa (also known as Percy Lapid).
They had pleaded guilty to having knowledge of the crime.
The convicts are Aldrin Galicia (Sputnik gang leader), Alvin Labra (BCJ gang leader), and Alfie Peñaredona (Happy Go Lucky gang leader).
The information came from Roy Mabasa, brother of the victim and another source privy to the proceedings.
Under Article 19 of the Revised Penal Code, accessories to a crime are those persons who did not actually participate in the commission of the crime, but they have knowledge about it.
Accessories have taken part in either assisting the offender/s to profit from the effects of the crime, concealing or destroying evidence, or harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal suspect/s in the crime.
Galicia, in his affidavit, said gang leaders were mobilized by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta to find someone who would go after Lapid.
The move was allegedly upon the instruction of former BuCor Director Gerald Bantag.
The Sputnik gang, through Jun Villamor, found someone who connected the group to a gunman.
The person purportedly was Christopher Bacoto, a detainee at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Bacoto allegedly gave them the name of Joel Escorial, the one who had been tagged as the killer.
The money in exchange for the attack was reportedly at P550,000.
It allegedly came from funds pooled by the gang leaders.
Escorial, in his affidavit, said he was accompanied by brothers Israel and Edmon Dimaculangan and a certain Orly.
They had stalked Lapid for sometime until he was taken down on October 3, 2022.
On October 17, Escorial surrendered and admitted to the killing.
He was presented to the media on October 18.
During the press conference, it was revealed that a Bilibid convict was allegedly responsible for handling the contract to kill Percy Lapid.
The convict was Villamor.
After this revelation, he was suffocated to death using a plastic bag by fellow convicts.
A separate case on Villamor’s death is pending before Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court.
Meanwhile, Bacoto denied participation in the crime.
He pleaded not guilty.
Alleged gunman Escorial is asking if he will also be given a lower penalty.
His arraignment was deferred because he was not represented by a lawyer.
The next hearing is set in August.
Mabasa said the court already issued a commitment order to transfer the three inmates from National Bureau of Investigation, where they are currently detained, back to Bilibid.
They were moved to the NBI detention center last year for their safety after Villamor’s death.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said the court ruling “is a very welcome development.”
“They are not only doing this for the case, but for themselves,” he said, referring to the convicts’ confessions.
“However, the Department is not stopping there. We would like to see their principal, the brains behind the murders, plead guilty or be convicted,” Clavano stressed.
“That is the only time we can say that justice has been served,” he added.
DOJ already offered a P2-million reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of Bantag.
A P1-million reward was also offered for the arrest of his deputy, Zulueta.
They were named principal suspects in the slay of Percy Lapid.
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