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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Percy Lapid case: PNP confirms another NBP detainee ID'ed as person of interest, now safeguarded

Percy Lapid case: PNP confirms another NBP detainee ID'ed as person of interest, now safeguarded

Published Oct 21, 2022 04:24 pm

A new twist unfolded in the killing of Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa: another person deprived of liberty (PDL) at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) is now treated as a person of interest in the case and the subject is reportedly related to the deceased “middleman,” Jun “Crisanto” Villamor.

Percy Lapid (Screenshot from Lapid Fire Facebook page)

Col. Redrico Maranan, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson, said a PDL from NBP has been secured after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla revealed that another person of interest in the case was identified by investigators.

“The Special Investigation Task Group Lapid Commander said that a person from NBP has already been transferred to a safe location and that round the clock security is being afforded to him,” Maranan confirmed on Friday, Oct. 21.

According to reports, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), which maintains the NBP, had records of two related Villamors inside the national penitentiary: Jun Villamor, the tagged middleman; and his cousin, Jose Villamor.

But Maranan did not directly identify whether it was Jose Villamor he was pertaining to as the inmate considered as the new person of interest in the case.

Remulla, on the other hand, reportedly affirmed that the new person of interest was the cousin of the deceased middleman.

Jun Villamor, the alleged middleman who promised to pay P550,000 to self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial and his cohorts to plan the assassination of Mabasa, died last Oct. 18 at the NBP Hospital due to an undetermined cause. A second middleman, a PDL at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) detention facility, was identified by investigators as the one who contacted the assassination team for the planned killing.

The safeguarding of the new person of interest came after Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos directed the PNP to ensure the security of Escorial the gunman following the death of one of the two middlemen.

Villamor’s death was seen as a stumbling block by the DILG in identifying the mastermind behind the plan to kill the hard-hitting radio broadcaster.

Mabasa, whose radio commentaries included criticisms of the previous Duterte administration and the current Marcos Jr. administration, was shot dead while on his way home in Las Pinas City on Oct. 3.

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