NBI says alleged Percy Lapid slay masterminds Bantag, Zulueta still in Philippines

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday said suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and official Ricardo Zulueta are still in the Philippines, the alleged masterminds behind the plot to kill broadcaster Percy Lapid.

NBI supervising agent Atty. Eugene Javier said they are trying to secure a precautionary hold departure order against them.

“We’re trying to secure a precautionary hold departure order through the cooperation of the prosecutor. Although we have information that both people are still in the country,” Javier told ANC.

Asked if the NBI is aware of Bantag’s whereabouts, Javier said they are not trying to actively look for Bantag as there is no warrant of arrest issued against him.

“Even his lawyer says that he’s not in hiding so I don’t see the point why we have to locate him right now,” he said.

On Monday, authorities pointed to Bantag and Senior Superintendent Zulueta, the deputy security officer of BuCor, as those allegedly behind the killing of Lapid. Murder complaints have been filed against them and others before the Department of Justice.

Lapid was shot dead in Las Piñas City on October 3.

Javier previously said that the NBI is not discounting the possibility that there may be a more powerful mastermind in the killing.

He, however, clarified that they do not have evidence of this.

“I’m just saying that even if at this point we have no evidence to suggest that there are other people liable other than Director Bantag, we’re also not closing our doors to any information that might come subsequently that might help us in the probe in making the case stronger,” Javier said.

POIs

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had said that he believed there are no more masterminds behind Bantag and Zulueta. Remulla also said that including former President Rodrigo Duterte among the persons of interest (POI) in the case is farfetched and political.

For its part, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Duterte is not a POI in the case. 

However, the PNP said it is open to the possibility that a more powerful mastermind than Bantag may be behind the killing of Lapid.

Meanwhile, asked how authorities are sure that the inmates were referring to Bantag when talking about a certain “Tanda,” Javier said there are other testimonies.

“We have other testimonies, no, other unrecorded but everyone says that they have full signs for the director much like when – for us, we have our bosses which we also call by names other than their given names. So they have their culture also,” Javier said.

Autopsy

Javier also said that the NBI saw no inconsistencies between the first autopsy conducted by the NBI on the body of alleged middleman Jun Villamor and the second autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun. Villamor, a person deprived of liberty who was incarcerated at the New Bilibid Prison which is under BuCor, was allegedly the middleman who contacted self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial.

The NBI autopsy showed that Villamor died from a hemorrhage in the heart. It also found “no apparent sign of external physical injury.”

Meanwhile, Fortun’s autopsy showed the presence of methamphetamine or shabu in the urine sample collected from Villamor. The remains were also found to have a “history of asphyxia by plastic bag suffocation.”

“As to the two autopsy reports, we don’t really see any inconsistencies. It’s just that the NBI autopsy report manifested that the cause of death is undetermined. Just because it’s reflected in the autopsy report that the cause of death is undetermined, that does not rule out any foul play,” he said.

“So we’re relying on that, on that fact, that we can still use the autopsy report even if there are minor differences such as maybe Dr. Fortun has found methamphetamine from the body of Jun Villamor. It does not negate the findings that we arrived at in our investigation,” he added. —KG, GMA Integrated News