News Roundup 24 October 2022
Oct 24, 2022 • 5 min Read
PNP: 160 persons of interest in probe into killing of Percy Lapid | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippine National Police has identified at least 160 persons of interest in the killing of radioman Percy Mabasa, among whom is Bureau of Corrections Director General Gerald Bantag. Speaking to reporters at a press briefing in Camp Crame, Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, PNP chief said that the 160 are largely personalities whom Mabasa, better known by his stage name Percy Lapid, went after in his radio show Lapid Fire. Persons of interest are not suspects but are involved in a criminal investigation. The term refers to someone police are “interested” in for information that might help their investigation. “They’re politicians, military and police officers. We’re currently looking at their probable link to the death of Percy,” Azurin said in mixed Filipino and English. Mabasa in his radio show delivered commentary and criticisms of supposed government abuses and irregularities. One other person of interest is a cousin of Crisanto Villamor, the supposed middleman who connected the mastermind and the hitman, who died in the New Bilibid Prison a day after self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial linked him to the crime. “In the same manner, the inmates who were with Cristito Villamor in the detention cell are also being considered in the case since they most probably know something as well,” Azurin said. The PNP chief added that foul play is yet to be ruled out in the death of Villamor. Meanwhile, the latter’s cousin has already shared a number of “revelations” with investigators. “It’s an unfortunate incident, but the timing is questionable,” he said in Filipino. “We were almost there, right? We have the triggerman, we have the pieces of evidence and we were almost there to talk to the middleman and this happened. I don’t know if that was accidental because he was the person we were looking for, we wanted to talk to.” Azurin also contradicted the Southern Police District’s earlier claim that the case was now considered solved, pointing out that there were still unanswered questions despite the confession of Escorial. “We can’t say it’s solved yet, although we have filed the case already initially versus Escorial, but we have yet to determine where the order came from and how it could have come from Bilibid,” he said. “I personally don’t believe it should stop at the level of Escorial.” According to the PNP manual, a case is considered “solved and closed” when the following elements concur:
- the offender has been identified;
- there is sufficient evidence to charge him;
- the offender has been taken into custody;
- and the offender has been charged before the prosecutor’s office or court of appropriate jurisdiction
As it stands, Escorial’s alleged accomplices are still at large, and the mastermind of Lapid’s killing has yet to be identified.
Groups question ex-PNP chief Cascolan’s qualifications for DOH post | PHILSTAR.COM – Groups and healthcare advocates are questioning the qualifications of Philippine National Police chief Camilo Cascolan, among the brains behind the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs”, as undersecretary at the Department of Health. In a statement, the Alliance of Health Workers called the move a “clear manifestation of the president’s extreme lack of concern for the lives, health, safety and welfare of the health workers and the entire Filipino nation.” They also said the appointment “runs counter to DOH mandate of ensuring the provision of quality health service that every Filipino people deserves and in upholding the quality of life, respect for human dignity and protect the health and safety of the health workers.” “Cascolan’s appointment is a huge insult to our health experts who are most qualified to administer and run the affairs of the DOH,” the group said. Cascolan is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy and has a master’s degree in Public Administration from UP Visayas.
Percy Lapid slay case still stands on thin ice – Drilon | INQUIRER.NET – The Percy Lapid slay case is still standing on “thin ice,” former Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Monday, noting its “chilling effect” on press freedom. Drilon, who is also a former justice secretary, said that the testimony of self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial cannot stand alone and needs to be corroborated. “The case for the prosecution still stands on a thin ice. Why do I say that?… Unless there are other pieces of evidence which I am not aware of, the only evidence is the testimony of [Joel] Escorial,” Drilon pointed out out on ANC Headstart. “The police investigators and the Department of Justice must validate this confession with corroborative evidence… which is crucial because the case cannot stand on the testimony alone of Escorial,” he added. According to Drilon, the case will “fall into pieces” should Escorial recant his testimony soon. “The narration of the gunman, at this state, must be viewed with caution. Corroborative evidence must be gathered because everybody is asking, ‘is there a wider conspiracy here?’ “The alleged middleman is killed, and the alleged middleman is killed under mysterious circumstances,” the former senator noted. Drilon further called on his former Senate colleagues to allow authorities to complete their probe. He made the comment after a resolution was filed to look into the journalist’s killing. “I appeal to my former colleagues, allow the police to finish their investigation. I do not know what a Senate investigation can do at this point. “I am not yet convinced that the police is not doing its job. It has to do more investigation but at this stage, I do not see the need for the Senate investigation,” he said. Lapid, Percival Mabasa in real life, was a broadcaster critical of the government.
