Alleged middleman in Percy Lapid slay dies in Bilibid
The alleged middleman who arranged the killing of broadcaster roadcaster Percival Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid, from inside New Bilibid Prison (NBP) died on Oct. 18 while in detention, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla disclosed on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 20.
“Sa prison hospital doon namatay o kaya doon siya dinala where he was pronounced dead (He died at the prison hospital or was pronounced dead there),” Remulla said citing reports he received.
He could not elaborate or give added details on the death of the inmate (person deprived of liberty) as he admitted that the information he received lacked details.
“Basta yan lang report sa akin (That’s what was only given to me),” he said.
Remulla said he has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the death and conduct an autopsy of the remains.
Joel Escorial, who admitted to have gunned down Mabasa, had positively identified the inmate as the alleged middleman through a photo.
Escorial surrendered to authorities and was presented to the media on Tuesday morning.
He told reporters that the order to ambush Mabasa had come from an unnamed person in Bilibid. He confessed that and 3 others took part in the ambush on orders from an unnamed person in Bilibid, and later split the P550,000 reward among themselves.
Escorial’ co-conspirators that are still at large. He did not cite the motive nor identify the mastermind behind the killing.
Mabasa was shot dead in a Las Piñas suburb on Oct. 3 as he drove to his studio.
He told reporters he and 3 others took part in the ambush on orders from an unnamed person in Bilibid, and later split the P550,000 reward among themselves.
Escorial, who named his 3 co-conspirators that are still at large, did not cite the motive nor identify the mastermind behind the killing.
Mabasa was shot dead in a Las Piñas suburb on Oct. 3 as he drove to his studio. Mabasa was a vocal critic of the previous government under President Rodrigo Duterte.
The news was met with much skepticism on social media. Netizens found the “timing” of the suspected middleman from inside the Bilibid to be “too convenient” to be believed. To many, the story sounded like a badly written telenovela plot. Others expressed concern that with the alleged middleman dead, the case would turn cold and remain unresolved “Dead men tell no tales,” quipped one commenter on Twitter.
