MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday that it is “very possible” that authorities investigating the fatal ambush of broadcaster Percy Lapid have identified the brains behind his killing.
“It’s very possible,” Remulla told reporters in a chance interview when asked if authorities have determined who is the mastermind in the Lapid slay. “We still have to evaluate everything.”
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Police said Monday they have identified 160 persons of interest in the killing of Lapid, including suspended Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag.
So far, at least eight persons of interest have been turned over to authorities, including those who may be linked to the sudden death of Jun Villamor, one of the alleged middlemen in the killing of Lapid. Five are with the Department of Justice while three are under the custody of the Philippine National Police.
It was Villamor’s sister who claimed that she had information from her brother about three inmates who should be investigated should he die.
Remulla said the results of the investigation so far on the Lapid killing is “very satisfactory,” saying that they have “made a lot of progress.”
“I think that … the proper cases can be filed by the end of next week, hopefully,” he said.
The National Bureau of Investigation — under the DOJ — and the PNP have started their joint probe into the death of Jun Villamor, the inmate who allegedly gave the hit order to confessed gunman Joel Escorial.
Meanwhile, results of the second autopsy on Villamor, conducted by forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun, should be ready by Saturday, Remulla said. — Xave Gregorio with a report from Kristine Joy Patag