Murdered Broadcaster’s Relatives: ‘Gunman’ Needs Review

Confessed assassin } Joel Escorial has confessed to killing broadcaster and blogger Percival Mabatha, telling journalists Tuesday sitting between Interior Secretary Ben-Hur Avalos and Metropolitan Police Chief Brig. I’m talking Major General Johnnel Estomo. (Photo: NIÑO JESUS ​​ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The family of murdered radio broadcaster Percival “Percy Rapid” Mavasa on Tuesday expressed a “reservation” that the confessed assassin was the true killer, with lawmakers saying police were responsible for the killing. He said a rigorous lawsuit should be brought against him.

Roy Mabatha, the victim’s brother and fellow journalist, thanked authorities for surrendering suspect Joel Escorial, but his family did not allow the Philippine National Police to meet with the suspect. , said it would allow a reenactment of the incident to be staged. A deadly ambush on October 3 to “test the integrity of his story.”

“This is not because I have any doubts about the results of the investigation, but with the reservation that this is what he actually saw on the surveillance camera footage[of the crime scene],” he said in a telephone interview. said in

Some of his friends and colleagues believe that Escorial’s “profile does not seem to match the suspect caught on CCTV cameras.”

He said the request was “also in the public interest.”

Mabatha, 63, is a harsh critic of the policies and officials of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the Marcos administration, and shook his head as he drove to the Las Pinas City studios to air his “Lapid Fire.” I got shot twice. dwBL radio station shows livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

Escorial turned himself in to police on Monday. He said he feared for his life and asked the victim’s family for forgiveness.

Interior Secretary Ben-Hur Avalos announced a reward of P6.5 million for the shooter. He repeatedly warned the shooters to surrender or face the possibility of being eliminated by those behind the assassination.

When Escorial was presented by Avalos to the media at PNP headquarters in Camp Clam on Tuesday, the confessing gunman’s face was half-covered with a mask and he was wearing a bulletproof vest and Kevlar helmet.

“The public may be asking if he really surrendered or if he’s just a degenerate. No, it really is him,” said Avalos.

45-caliber pistol that Escorial turned over to police, and the red jacket he was wearing when he shot the station. Officials said they were sure Escorial was the shooter, even though it had already been torn apart.

“I am afraid for my life and my conscience is troubled by what I have done to Percy Rapid,” said Escorial.

“I hope they will forgive me,” he said tearfully. “I didn’t want to. Poverty forced me to do it. I needed money.”

Escorial, 39, is from Javier, a Tier 4 Municipality in Leyte Province, and has settled in Quezon City.

He and five others were involved in the killing, according to Escorial. He named his three of them. His brothers Edmond, 30, and Israel Dimacrangan, 35, lived in Las Pinas. A specific “Orly” or “Orlando” in Batangas.

The three are now under “intensive follow-up” by a special police task group, according to Police Brig. General Jonnel Estomo, Chief of Metropolitan Police.

Escorial said the person “contracted” to kill Mabasa was a New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmate who acted as an intermediary for an unidentified mastermind.

Police said a fifth accomplice is still unidentified.

“Straight from the movie”

Mabatha’s brother said that if Escorial’s confession was true, it was “horrifying because the story is like something straight out of a movie” and that those involved could be killed.

“I don’t want my brother to be part of this country’s tragic record of impunity,” he said.

Roy is now the caretaker of his brother’s wife and six children. “Our primary concern is safety while the suspect is still on the run,” he said.

the threat continues

He acknowledged that they continue to face threats. “Already standing as a padre de pamilla in his brother’s family, I try not to bother them,” he said.

“When I am gone, no one else can take up the club for him. If Ka Percy believed it was his duty to defend the truth, he would support this case, It is my duty to clarify the facts of this case,” he said.

The Philippine National Union of Journalists said it hoped Escorial’s surrender would lead to prosecution of the ringleaders.

“Accountability in this case will help to piece together the culture of impunity around the killing of journalists that the media, civil society and government agencies have sought to change,” the statement said.

Escorial said he and five others were paid P550,000 for the hit. After the killing, he received his 140,000 pesos in his bank account.

He said there were two groups assigned to assassinate Mavasa.He and Orly were driving a getaway bike, and the Dimacrangan brothers were riding another.

The deal was that the group closest to Mavasa had to shoot him.

“Percy happened to be near us,” he said.

Escorial said Orly warned him that if he didn’t kill Mavasa, “I would die, so I shot Percy.”

police brig. Southern Police Chief Gen. Kirby John Kraft told the Inquirer that Escorial had cleared the name of his NBP prisoner and that the PNP had coordinated with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Justice on “access to this prisoner.” .

Attorney General Jessus Crispin Lemura said on Tuesday that she will ask Correctional Service Director Gerald Bantag to investigate Escorial’s allegations.

“What the shooter said and what DG knows, I don’t know if they’re the same. You can’t guess it,” he said. “We need to know who’s behind it. We’ll make it clear.”

Senator Ramon Levira Jr. introduced a resolution Tuesday asking the Senate to “investigate the veracity” of Escorial’s allegations.

“These allegations, like other past cases, are glaring evidence of a flawed corrections system that is one of the weaknesses of the Philippine judicial system,” he said.

“Find the Mastermind”

He stressed the need to determine whether NBP officials were involved in the killings.

“It is absolutely ridiculous that government resources are being used to effectively protect masterminds who are held in government facilities,” Revilla said in the resolution. “This should stop”

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said the PNP should not prematurely declare the assassination “closed” because the ringleaders have not been arrested.

“This must be formally, thoroughly and competently investigated by our country’s top criminal investigators,” Pimentel told reporters. “We need to find the mastermind,” he said.

Bagong Henerasyon Congressman Bernadette Herrera has asked the police to confirm that they have the real shooter in custody and to build a solid case against the Mavasa murder suspect based on strong testimony and forensic evidence. I asked.

“Because the burden of proving the case ultimately rests with the PNP and the prosecutor who handle the case, they’d better get the facts right and find the gunman who actually shot the victim,” Herrera said. said.

— with reports from Marlon Ramos and Janet I. Andrade

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