3 NBP inmates convicted as accessories in Lapid slay

MANILA, Philippines — A Las Piñas court yesterday sentenced to two to eight years in prison three New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmates for their role as accessories to the murder of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid in October last year.

Judge Harold Cesar Hulinganga of Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Branch 254 convicted Aldrin Galicia, Alfie Peñaredonda and Alvin Labra in open court after they admitted participation in Lapid’s murder.

The three pleaded guilty to a lesser degree as accessories and admitted that they took part in the plot to kill Lapid, whose real name was Percival Mabasa.

Accessories carry a lesser penalty compared to the principals of a crime.

Galicia is a Sputnik gang commander, Labra is a Batang City Jail commander and Peñaredonda a HappyGoLucky gang commander.

“They confessed so the judge sentenced them,” Lapid’s brother, journalist Roy Mabasa, said in an interview.

The court also issued a commitment order for the three to be brought back to the NBP from the National Bureau of Investigation’s detention center.

The alleged masterminds, former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag and his deputy Ricardo Zulueta, remain at large and are being pursued by authorities.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier announced a P2-million bounty for Bantag and P1 million for Zulueta.

An investigation revealed that Labra, after receiving an order from a prisoner at the Iwahig Prison in Palawan, contacted Sputnik leader Galicia, who in turn asked a fellow inmate, the late Cristito Villamor, to look for a hitman outside the NBP.

Labra and Galicia are also facing murder charges at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court for the death of Villamor.

Peñaredonda served as financier for the kill job on Lapid.

Sought for comment, Mabasa said it is just fair for the judge to issue a ruling. He said their family is hoping that Bantag would surrender and face the charges against him.

The self-confessed gunman, Joel Escorial, asked the court if he would be given a lower penalty if he pleads guilty. His arraignment was deferred in the absence of a lawyer.

‘Welcome development’

The guilty plea of three Bilibid gang leaders as accessories in the murder of Lapid is “a welcome development,” DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said yesterday.

Clavano said pleading guilty is a “mitigating circumstance” which will lessen their sentence for this crime.

“However, the department is not stopping there. We would like to see their principal, the brains behind the murders, plead guilty or convicted. That is the only time we can say that justice has been served,” he told reporters. — Daphne Galvez