In Las Pias, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on October 3, 2022, Percy Lapid, a radio journalist, and presenter, was fatally murdered while returning home. Let’s see Who is Joel Estorial, the Suspect in killing radio broadcaster Percy Lapid in detail
Who was Percy Lapid?
The middle name or maternal family name of this Filipino name is Carag, while the last name or paternal family name is Mabasa.
Percival Carag Mabasa, often known as Percy Lapid, was a Filipino journalist and radio journalist who lived from March 14, 1959, to October 3, 2022.
He was an opponent of both Rodrigo Duterte and President Bongbong Marcos. He addressed corruption issues as the host of the radio program Lapid Fire, which was broadcast at DWBL. Amid a sugar crisis, he revealed flaws with the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s scrapped Sugar Order No. 4.
Executive secretary Vic Rodriguez resigned in September 2022 as a result of the scandal the Marcos government was dealing with.
In addition to DWBL, Lapid worked as a radio reporter and pundit for DZME, DWBC, DZRM, DWIZ, and DZRJ starting in the 1980s. He also wrote a column for the tabloid Hataw.
How did Percy Lapid kill?
On October 3, 2022, at about 8:30 p.m. (UTC+8), Percy Lapid was slain while driving to his home in the gated enclave of BF Resort Village in Las Pias.
Since passing vehicles must be checked for the sticker needed to enter the subdivision, traffic grew at the gate in Barangay Talon 2 near Aria Street.
When a motorcycle carrying two individuals pulled up to his car, a gunman opened fire, killing Lapid instantly with two bullets.
When the incident happened, his car was about 50 meters (160 feet) from the gate. According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, he was the third journalist to be murdered in the Philippines in 2022.
The killing is the subject of investigations by the Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine National Police (PNP). As part of the inquiry, the PNP spoke with the victim’s family and looked over CCTV footage taken along the known path Lapid took. They also looked at the dashcam on the victim’s car and his cellphone.
Lapid’s family claims they are not aware of any potential threats to the journalist’s life, while the PNP’s National Capital Region Police Office claims to have not discovered any proof on the journalist’s smartphone. The reason for the killing has not been established by the police.
Who were the criminals?
It was observed that two motorcycle-riding males were involved in the murder of Lapid. One “person of interest,” a man walking near the Las Pias City Hall and about five minutes from Lapid’s house, was named by the police. He was wearing a pink jacket.
Benhur Abalos, secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, asserts that the murderer is a skilled shooter.
The suspect in the murder of broadcaster Percy Lapid turns himself in:
‘I was scared and I felt guilty for doing Percy Lapid,’ Joel Estorial, the alleged gunman, says
MANILA, Philippines – According to DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, the suspect in the murder of broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa has turned himself into the police.
Joel Estorial was shown by Abalos, who claimed that the alleged shooter who killed Lapid on October 17 gave himself up out of fear.
Estorial also gave an extrajudicial confession, the interior chief noted. This implies Estorial did not confess in front of a judge or as part of an investigation.
Estorial stated, “I was terrified and guilt-stricken for the murder of Percy Lapid,” adding that he confessed because his face was already visible on the closed-circuit television (CCTV).
Abalos says Estorial pointed two other individuals on the killing of Lapid. They are Edmon and Israel Dimaculangan. pic.twitter.com/OJ6ibwnveY
— Jairo Bolledo (@jairojourno) October 18, 2022
Suspect’s motive
Estorial is the accused suspect for at least three reasons, according to interior chief Abalos:
“Hindi niya lang inamin,” since the slug and the gun would match. He didn’t just admit it; the gun’s ballistics matched the slug, according to Abalos: “Nag-match ‘yung ballistics, number one.”
He said, “Number two, those clothing he tore apart, these are still his clothes, and number three, it was on the CCTV (Number two, those clothes he tore apart, it was obvious these were his clothes, and number three, it was captured on camera).” Estorial asserted that the New Bilibid Prison is where the order to kill Lapid supposedly originated. He stated that there were six of them responsible for the murder, and they received P550,00 in total.
Lapid’s brother, prominent writer Roy Mabasa, stated in a message to Rappler that they want to meet the suspect in person and conduct a further investigation: “I want a walk-through…Matching ng (of the) CCTV footages and the gunman.”
According to Abalos, Estorial also identified three additional people who were engaged in the murder: the Dimaculangan brothers, Edmon and Israel, as well as a man named “Orly” or Orlando. Estorial reported that Israel was the passenger and Orly was the driver.
Additionally, the alleged shooter revealed their strategy, saying, “Whoever is honest at the intersection, he will be shot. Well, it happened to me. He stated, “If I don’t shoot, I will be killed. That’s why I shot Percy.” I went to the junction after being told to do so because I was in danger of being killed if I didn’t discharge the gun.
Estorial will continue to be held by the police. The investigation is underway, said Abalos. Since Estorial mentioned that the order came from Bilibid, the authorities have not yet made it clear whether he is a civilian or someone who has been detained.
They must also clarify whether Estorial was a passenger in another vehicle at the time of the murder. Further information about the incident was withheld by both the DILG and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The press was invited to the briefing, although there were few questions allowed at the press conference.
In Las Pias, Lapid was shot down on October 3. Lapid, a vocal opponent of both current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former President Rodrigo Duterte, is the second journalist to die while working for Marcos Jr.
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Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.
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