There are now 13 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in detention facilities of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) who have become “persons of interest” in the killing last Oct. 3 of radio commentator Percival C. Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid.
BuCor Officer-in-Charge Gregorio Pio. P. Catapang Jr., during a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 2, said: “Thirteen kung hindi ako nagkakamali (There are 13 if I have not mistaken).”
Initially, he said there were four PDLs. “Tapos sumunod pito. Tapos naging plus one dun sa Iwahig. So 12 na. Plus one pa yung nasa sa ISAFP (Then there were seven more. Another one was added from the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan. So that’s 12. Plus another one who has been detained with the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Catapang said.
Earlier, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla had said the joint investigation being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Percy Lapid’s killing and on the death of alleged middleman at NBP will wind up this week.
Remulla said the probes may be able to pinpoint the masterminds in the death of both Percy Lapid and NBP inmate Jun Globa Villamor, the alleged middleman.
During the press conference, Catapang presented to media members thousands of contraband items that were either surrendered or seized from inmates of the NBP in Muntinlupa City in the past few days.
Catapang said the search for contraband items was done after forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun revealed that her autopsy conducted on Villamor showed traces of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu.
“I asked my men to talk to the PDLs in their respective areas and tell the people to voluntarily surrender the contrabands,” he said.
The voluntary surrender of contrabands was done last Oct. 29. Last Oct. 31, “Oplan Paglilinis” was conducted, Catapang said.
He said among the banned items surrendered or confiscated included illegal drugs, liquor, deadly weapons and mobile phones.
He said BuCor will determine if any of the seized mobile phones was the unit used by the late Villamor in texting her sister hours before he died last Oct. 18.
“Ipapa-forensic namin. Hopefully nandun (The mobile phones will be subjected to forensic examination. Hopefully it will be among these phones),” he also said.
Before Villamor died, her sister told investigators his brother texted her and told her that he feared for his life. She also said her brother named those involved in the Percy Lapid killing.
The sister sought the help of Senator Raffy Tulfo. She was turned over to the DOJ which placed her under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) and was taken to the NBI for custody.
TAGS: #DOJ #BuCor #Percy Lapid