ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Lapid case: 'Jail cell conspiracy' justifies return of death penalty, says ranking solon

Lapid case: 'Jail cell conspiracy' justifies return of death penalty, says ranking solon

Published Oct 26, 2022 11:09 am

A pastor-turned-congressman said Wednesday, Oct. 26 that the alleged "jail cell conspiracy" in connection with the ambush-slay of radio commentator Percy Lapid further justifies the reimposition of death penalty in the Philippines.

Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. (Facebook)

"If a prison cell cannot stop a criminal from plotting and ordering the murder of another person, then the death penalty may be the only way to prevent the murder of innocent citizens and journalists like Percy Lapid," Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. said in a statement.

Abante called for the reimposition of capital punishment in country as more details of the Percy Lapid killing were revealed following the confession of gunman Joel Escorial.

Escorial surrendered to authorities a few days after the killing of Lapid, whose real name is Percival Mabasa, last Oct. 3. Lapid was gunned down in Las Piñas City.

Incidentally, Abante is the author of House Bill (HB) No. 4121, or the proposed Death Penalty Law. The measure seeks to reimpose capital punishment for crimes such as murder, treason, drug trafficking, and plunder.

The death penalty was abolished in 2006 during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"This jail cell conspiracy that led to the tragic death of an outspoken journalist is proof that incarceration is not enough to stop criminals from committing more crimes," stressed Abante, chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights.

In his reported confession, Escorial admitted that he received orders to kill Lapid from Bilibid inmate Crisanto Villamor, who was later said to have died due to undetermined causes.

"This is not the first time we have discovered crimes being carried out from inside our prison," Abante noted.

CLICK THIS TOO:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/20/libanan-knows-how-to-track-down-mastermind-behind-lapid-slay/

He pointed to the reports of illegal drug trafficking and drug use among inmates of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in 2014, when a series of raids conducted by law enforcement officials unearthed the presence of "shabu" and other drug paraphernalia in air-conditioned quarters built for convicted drug dealers.

"While these may have been already addressed, the disturbing reality is that as long as there are jailed criminals who have the resources to bribe, coerce, or even threaten our corrections officers, they remain a danger to society. In cases such as these, death is the only punishment that can neutralize them," the veteran solon reckoned.

The death penalty was last carried out in the country via lethal injection.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.