It’s been over two years since Percival Mabasa, known as radio broadcaster Percy Lapid, was gunned down in Las Piñas. Since the murder on Oct. 3, 2022, only one person has been tagged as the alleged mastermind: Gerald Bantag, whose stint as Bureau of Corrections director was the subject of scathing criticism in Mabasa’s radio show.
Bantag and his former aide, BuCor deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta, were also tagged in the murder of inmate Jun Villamor inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. Villamor could have provided crucial testimony in Mabasa’s killing. Several NBP prisoners have been convicted of the murder of Villamor, who was tagged by hired gun Joel Escorial as the middleman in the contract to kill Mabasa. Escorial has been convicted and is serving his sentence.
Zulueta disappeared when his name cropped up in the probe. But last year, police reported that he had died of a heart attack on March 15 at the Bataan Peninsula Medical Center in Dinalupihan town. He was reportedly brought to the hospital by his brother, although it is unclear if relatives had helped him stay in hiding.
Who helped Zulueta evade arrest for over a year? This is a criminal offense that is not extinguished by his death. It is an obstruction of the pursuit of justice for Mabasa. Failure to hold those who harbor fugitives criminally liable encourages similar acts in other cases. It encourages people to harbor Bantag, who is believed to be in his home region, the Cordilleras.
There are enough laws to prosecute those who harbor fugitives. Like most laws in this country, however, enforcement is spotty. Jovito Palparan, dubbed “The Butcher” by human rights advocates, hid in plain sight in Sta. Mesa, Manila for three years until his capture in August 2014 for the kidnapping, torture and enforced disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. Did Palparan get help while in hiding?
Authorities have yet to see anyone being held accountable for helping Alice Guo and Cassandra Li Ong leave the country. Seeing no one being held accountable for helping known fugitives, people will be emboldened to help the nation’s most wanted evade arrest. When fugitives are caught, law enforcers must also go after the enablers.