Inmate tells who ordered, how he killed ‘middleman’ in Percy slay

The alleged middleman in the plot to kill broadcaster Percy Lapid asked four of his fellow inmates sent to kill him to spare his life before they suffocated him to death with a plastic bag used to carry vegetables.

According to John Consulta's report on "24 Oras", one of the inmates said a mayor or alias May-may ordered the killing of Cristito Villamor Palaña or Jun Villamor, the alleged facilitator of the Lapid slay.

In one of the sworn statements, alias Jocon narrated how he and three other inmates killed Villamor around noon on Oct. 18.

"Huwag niyo naman akong patayin. Papatayin niyo na ba ako?" Villamor was said to have asked calmly his would-be killers when they went to his kubol, according to Jocon's sworn statement.

"Kalma mo lang sarili mo kosa," one of them told him.

Jocon's statement indicated that it was he who held the plastic bag to suffocate Villamor. His three companions held the alleged middleman's hands, arms and feet.

"Medyo matagal po kasi gumagalaw po ang ulo ni Jun. Hindi ko na alam kung gaano katagal dahil blanko na po ako at iniisip ko lang na sana matapos na agad," Jocon said.

"First time ko din po kasing sumupot ng tao," he added.

The inmate said he didn't refuse May-may's order because he knew that he himself would be killed if he didn't follow.

He said he had witnessed how other inmates had been killed after they rejected the order of May-may and other former mayors.

A mayor in Philippine prisons is an inmate who's the recognized the leader among prisoners in a community of cells.

"Kasi alam ko po na kapag tumanggi ako ay papatayin ako. May mga nasaksihan na rin ako na pinatay noong tumanggi sa utos ni Mayor Maymay at ng mga nagdaang mayor," Jocon said.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has said Villamor's death inside the NBP wasn't due to natural causes.

"It's not very easy to accept that things can go wrong that way but ganyan po 'yun. We call a spade a spade... This is a sworn statement. We're not talking about kwento," Remulla said.

An inmate from Ihawig Penal colony arrived on Wednesday night and confirmed to the National Bureau of Investigation his participation in the killing of Percy Lapid.

Ten inmates now in the custody of the NBI on Thursday went through polygraph tests to boost the case build-up.

Remulla said there were possibly two masterminds in the deaths.

Lapid was shot dead by two suspects onboard a motorcycle on Oct. 3 in Las Piñas City. 

Confessed gunman Joel Escorial surrendered to the authorities and claimed that the order to kill the broadcaster came from inside the NBP.

On October 20, Remulla said that the inmate who acted as a middleman to facilitate Lapid's killing had died.  —NB, GMA Integrated News