A second arrest order for murder was issued by the trial court against former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director general Gerald Q. Bantag for the killing of radio broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” C. Mabasa on Oct. 3, 2022. Aside from Bantag, also ordered arrested by the Las Pinas City regional trial court (rTC) were then BuCor security officer Ricardo S. Zulueta, brothers Israel and Edmon Dimaculangan, and a person only known as “Orly” or “Orlando.” Earlier, the Muntinlupa City RTC had issued an arrest order against Bantag and Zulueta, also for murder, for the killing of Cristito Villamor Palana who was identified by Joel S. Escorial, self-confessed gunman of Percy Lapid, as his “middleman” in the slaying of the broadcaster. Palana, a person deprived of liberty (PDL), was found dead in his cell at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City on Oct. 18, 2022 or exactly 10 days after he was identified by Escorial.  Based on autopsy, Palana died due to asphyxiation. Murder, under the Revised Penal Code (RPC), is a non-bailable offense. In his order, Las Pinas RTC Judge Harold Cesar C. Huliganga directed law enforcers to bring all the accused “before me to be dealt with according to law.” “You are required to use at least one body-worn camera and one alternative recording device, or a minimum of two devices, or such number as may be necessary to capture and record the relevant incidents in the execution of this warrant pursuant to the Rules on the Use of Body-Worn Cameras in the Execution of Warrants (A.M. No. 21-06-08-SC) issued by the Supreme Court and which became effective on 1 August 2021,” Judge Huliganga told law enforcers. Meanwhile, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said on Friday, April 14, that he has received information that Bantag remains in the country. “As of eight days ago he was tracked within the Philippines I was told by reliable sources,” Remulla disclosed. He said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has already been informed about the issuance of arrest warrants against Bantag. “Spotted by any law enforcement officer he will be arrested,” he assured should Bantag be seen in the country’s air and seaports attempting to leave the Philippines. He said prosecutors handling the two murder cases are expected to ask the courts to issue hold departure orders (HDOs) against Bantag, Zulueta and the other accused. “That’s standard ng ating prosecution (It is part of the standard procedure of prosecutors),” he said. A DOJ panel of prosecutors filed the cases before the Las Pinas City and Muntinlupa City courts following the conduct of a preliminary investigation of the complaints filed jointly by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). “The preliminary investigation established that the murders of Mabasa and Villamor were attended by conspiracy between and among the respective respondents. The plan of the respondents to kill them both, including its execution, was shown by the evidence for the complainants. The prosecution notes that the death of Villamor were intertwined with the death of Percival and that the death of the former was used to cover-up the death of the latter,” the DOJ said in a statement issued last March. Citing the resolution issued by the panel of prosecutors, the DOJ said that in indicting Bantag, “sufficient pieces of circumstantial evidence have been presented to establish that he masterminded the assassination of Percival.” Also accused in the death of Percy Lapid were Escorial, who has been in police custody since his surrender, and PDLs Denver Mayores, Alvin Labra, Aldrin Galicia, Alfie Peñaredonda and Christopher Bacoto Those charged for the death of Palana, aside from Bantag and Zulueta, were Galicia, Labra and other PDLs Mario Alvarez, Joseph Georfo, Christian Ramac, Ricky Salgado, Ronnie Dela Cruz, and Joel Reyes. “Several circumstances were shown starting with the fact that when Villamor first called Escorial, the former told the latter not to disclose Bantag’s names if ever the latter were to get caught. Further, the motive of the murder was also sufficiently described – the two videos uploaded by Percival about respondent Bantag and showing the latter’s house with a number of vehicles parked in front. The prosecution notes that the timing of the uploaded videos and the commencement of the planning of Percival’s assassination is not coincidental,” the DOJ said in its earlier statement. It said the statements of the PDLs who were named as respondents in the murder case also “corroborated the finding and pointed to Bantag as the one who ordered the killing.” It said that based on statements, Mayores discussed with Labra plans to kill Percy Lapid after receiving instructions from Zulueta in September 2022. After Maryores and Labra were summoned by Zulueta who conveyed Bantag’s instructions to kill Mabasa, Galicia that same month ordered Palana to find an assassin and was able to get hold of Escorial through Bacoto. The DOJ said that “after respondent Peñaredonda helped raised the money asked by respondent Escorial, the latter, along with his companions respondents Dimaculangan brothers and a certain Orlando or @Orly carried out the plan to assassinate Percival on October 03, 2022 in Las Piñas City while the latter was driving his Toyota Innova.” It added that the PDLs involved in the crime were promised early release and Zulueta also handed Labra P350,000 as additional payment for the slaying of Percy Lapid who was reportedly killed for exposing in his radio program the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Bantag.