The police consider the murder of broadcaster Percival Mabasa—also known as Percy Lapid—to be solved, even though three of the suspects are still at large, and the mastermind has not been identified and charged.
In an interview on radio dzBB, Southern Police District (SPD) director Police Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft said they consider the case solved because they have identified the suspects, they have some of them in custody, and they have filed a case against them.
On the other hand, he said the investigation continues.
Roy Mabasa, brother of the killed broadcaster, disputed this, lamenting that investigators may face a dead end following the death of alleged “middleman” Jun Villamor last Friday, as the mastermind of the crime is yet to be determined.
“Our definition of ‘solved’ is different. If we say ‘solved’, we had gotten into the mastermind,” Berteni “Toto” Causing, a counsel for Mabasa’s family, added.
For Mabasa’s camp, the case remains unsolved until the mastermind has been unmasked and charged.
However, Kraft said: “’Closed’ is different from ‘solved.’ We continue with our investigation to determine who the culprits are.”
The SPD director said the investigation includes a review of Mabasa’s radio program from 2021 to 2022.
The police have also coordinated with the father of the alleged first middleman Villamor, who died inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Joel Escorial, who surrendered to the police and admitted pulling the trigger on Mabasa, said it was the inmate Cristito Villamor Palaña who asked him to kill and three companions to kill the broadcaster in exchange for P550,000.
Kraft said they would focus on the gunman’s account to identify others who were involved in the killing.
He also said Escorial’s bank account corroborated the gunman’s account that he and his companions were paid P550,000 to kill Mabasa.
A second middleman, identified by Escorial as Christopher Bacoto, is now under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Escorial identified his accomplices as Israel Dimaculangan, Edmund Dimaculangan, and a certain Orlando. Escorial said the order to kill Mabasa came from inside the NBP.
A complaint for murder has been filed against Escorial and his three alleged accomplices, police said Wednesday.
The Department of Justice will start today, Monday, its preliminary investigation of the murder complaint filed against Escorial and the three accomplices he named.
The Dimaculangan brothers and “Orly” or “Orlando” have not been arrested and their whereabouts are still unknown. Escorial surrendered to the PNP, saying he feared for his life.
It was not known immediately if the two other persons identified by Escorial have been included in the complaint filed by the PNP.
In his affidavit, Escorial tagged Villamor, alias “Idoy” as the person who contracted him to kill Mabasa for P550,000.
The DOJ also said that Escorial revealed that his three co-respondents were instructed to join him because a certain Christopher Bacoto (Yoyoy), also known as “Jerry Sandoval,” talked them into helping him kill Mabasa.
Earlier, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said there were two prisoners with the surname of Villamor detained at the NBP in Muntinlupa City.
BuCor Deputy Director General Gabriel Chaclag identified them as Jun Globa Villamor and Jose Palana Villamor.
Jun died at the NBP hospital on Oct. 18 while Jose was transferred to the Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Oct. 20, Chaclag said.
He said the two Villamors are cousins.
Over the weekend, the national president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said Escorial could be acquitted if he becomes a state witness.
IBP’s Burt Estrada said it is an option for the prosecution to have the accused be discharged to be a state witness and use his or her testimony to solve a crime.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said it is possible that Escorial could end up as a state witness if he provides vital information that could lead to the identification of the mastermind in Mabasa’s killing.
The lawyer for the Mabasa family, Berteni Causing, said the family is willing to have Escorial declared a state witness to unmask the mastermind.
Escorial would then be under the government’s Witness Protection Program, Causing said.
Meanwhile, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said he wants Congress to provide a bigger budget to the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program (WPSBP), amid the spate of violent crimes, including the Oct. 3 contract killing of veteran radio commentator Mabasa.
“The WPSBP seems to be working well. But we must support the program with greater funding so it can extend highly improved financial, relocation, and livelihood assistance to witnesses,” Pimentel said in a statement on Sunday.
“This way, we can encourage more witnesses to cooperate in law enforcement investigations and judicial proceedings without fearing not only reprisals, but also without fearing economic dislocation,” Pimentel said.
“We also want the WPSBP to establish additional safehouses to accommodate witnesses, and if necessary, to allow them to stay together with their families,” Pimentel said, adding that the program currently has only 48 hideouts nationwide.
