"We're the victims, but we’re getting threats."
This was what Roy C. Mabasa, also a journalist, told the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) during a conference on Wednesday, Oct. 26, on the death of his brother, radio commentator Percival C. Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid.
Aside from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), the CHR also started its own motu proprio (on its own) probe on Percy Lapid’s killing.
Roy, who has been coordinating closely with law enforcers on his brother’s case, said that he wanted to boost the stature, morale, and capacity of the CHR by providing them with extra details on the case.
He said that if there is one constitutional body that is deserving of trust, the CHR “would definitely be it.”
But he lamented that he and members of the Mabasa family have been receiving "brazen death threats" left and right.
Even Mabasa's nephews and nieces have been receiving unsavory messages, warning them that they cannot go back to their normal lives, he also said.
But threat or no threat, Roy declared that he has no other choice but to dig deeper into Ka Percy's case and unravel the real mastermind behind his killing. "I have to continue what my brother has started," he said.
On the PNP’s offer of protection, Roy said: "We're still in the process of evaluating protection and seeing if we can trust the people we will get. We have to be careful in selecting people.”
He disclosed that he has even aired out his concerns with the international community, and several ambassadors have offered to help his case.
He said that his answer to them has remained the same as the one he has given to everyone who has offered to back their family: "Your voice alone is what's keeping this story alive."
He stressed that what he and his family really need is the solution to his brother’s killing such that the real perpetrator will be held into account.
As of posting, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said that at least 10 “persons of interest” in the Percy Lapid killing would be placed in the custody of law enforcers.
But, Remulla said, the government has not come out with a conclusive finding on who is the mastermind or masterminds in the killing.
TAGS: #DOJ #Remulla #CHR #Percy Lapid