Evidence shows Percy Lapid gunman not ‘fall guy’: DILG chief

GUNMAN. DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. (left) presents to members of the media suspect Joel Estorial (center), the alleged gunman in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid, in a presser in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Tuesday (Oct. 18, 2022). During the presser, Estorial said he surrendered to authorities over fear for his life after his photo was released by the police and a PHP6.5 million bounty was placed on his head. (Photo: Office of the Press Secretary/Facebook)

MANILA – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Wednesday said the results of the ballistics tests and forensic evidence obtained by authorities at the crime scene of the killing of broadcaster Percival Mabasa also known as “Percy Lapid” matched with the weapon used by the self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial.

“Hindi lang ito tungkol sa pagko-confess (to the crime), mahirap din yun eh ano, sinigurado natin ito, yung tinatawag na ballistics, ibig sabihin po nito yung mga nakitang slugs o yung mga bala dun sa kapaligiran (It is not only about the confession to the crime, that is not the sole basis. We made sure that this will be confirmed by what we call the ballistics, meaning these were the slugs or bullets found in the scene),’’ Abalos said in a radio interview.

The DILG chief’s remarks came in response to doubts about Escorial’s confession, which happened just 15 days after the killing of Lapid on Oct. 3.

Abalos said Lapid’s brother, journalist Roy Mabasa, also joined the police in a walkthrough of the crime scene.

“Nagre-enactment pa (of the crime), pinakita dun sa kapatid po ni Ka Percy, si Roy Mabasa at si Roy naman ay nakumbinsi at nagpasalamat sa kapulisan dahil nakausap nya mismo yung tao (suspect) (We had a reenactment, we showed to the brother of Percy — Roy, Roy Mabasa — and Roy was convinced and thanked the police since he talked directly to the person),’’ he added.

Fearing for his personal safety, Escorial surrendered to the police and led them to the place where he hid the murder weapon and the tattered t-shirt which he wore when he gunned down the victim.

The DILG chief asserted that Escorial would not have identified five of his cohorts and solely admitted to the killing if he was a “fall guy”.

He noted that authorities are now waiting for the other suspects, namely alias “Orly/Orlando”, and Edmond Dimaculangan and Israel Dimaculangan, the guys initially named by Escorial as his accomplices in the crime to surrender as their images were also made public.

Abalos also emphasized that Escorial’s confession that the order to kill Percy Lapid came from inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) does not necessarily mean that these people were the real masterminds in the crime.

“Ibig sabihin yun ang kumuntrata (from the NBP) pero baka meron pang mas mataas dun. Iyon lang po, kasi ang dami kaagad hakahaka e ano (It means that the one who hired him is from the NBP, but there could be someone higher who made the order. That is all, because there are a lot of rumors),’’ Abalos said.

The DILG chief appealed to the public to help in informing authorities of the whereabouts of the other suspects whose pictures have already been shown publicly.