Las Piñas police are conducting follow-up operations to establish the identity of the person of interest in the killing of broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa, whose image was seen on a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
Col. Jaime Santos, Las Piñas police chief, said they are thoroughly checking on the profile of the person of interest.
Santos said they continue backtracking the CCTV footage they obtained from barangay officials and homeowners association in the area of the ambush.
“We wanted to be sure that we are on the right track in the follow-up we are conducting for the arrest of the suspects,” Santos said.
The city police chief said they are also coordinating with the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) to identify the plate number of the motorcycle used by the killers.
Santos said they are also waiting for the report of the anti-cyber crime group they requested to enhance the CCTV footage from the barangay and the dashcam of Lapid’s vehicle.
He said that the two motorcycle-riding men seen on CCTV footage tailing the vehicle of Lapid are the same persons captured by the victim’s car dashcam.
The city police chief said the motive behind the killing is mostly likely work-related.
The Special Task Group (SITG) Percival Mabasa earlier said they established the profile of the suspect after reviewing the CCTV footage of Lapid’s route moments before he was shot dead.
The photo of one of the gunmen in the Oct. 3 ambush of Lapid was released by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Friday.
The police are asking for the full cooperation of the public for the arrest of the suspect.
The reward money for the capture of the suspects reaches P1.5 million, including the P500,000 bounty offered by Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos.
Police said the additional cash reward was put up by the friends of the victim and concerned citizens.
The NCRPO guarantees the safety and security of any informant who could give any information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects and speedy resolution of the case.