The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila has provided ₱1 million to fund a commemoration project for late veteran radio broadcaster Percival Mabasa or popularly known as Percy Lapid.
The commemoration project dubbed “Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive” will be organized by Center for People’s Media (CPM).
The ₱1 million donation was formalized by the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Czech Republic in Manila Chargé d’affaires Dalibor Mička and CPBM President Victoria Uy on Tuesday, July 18.
Roy Mabasa, the older brother of Lapid, shared the photos of the MOA signing between the two officials.
“Czech Republic Embassy Charge d’Affaires Dalibor Mička & Veronica Uy of the Center for People’s Media (CPM) signed an agreement to promote freedom of speech & of the press through the Percy Lapid (@lapidfire) series of forums up to October 2023, the latter’s 1st death anniversary,” Mabasa said.
The “Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive” project will consist of three forums.
The first forum will be held in Manila on October 3, which marks the first death anniversary of the radio broadcaster.
While the two other forums will be conducted in Dumaguete City and Cagayan De Oro City.
Aside from the forum, all broadcast episodes of Lapid's "Lapid Fire" will be archived on a website that can be accessed by the public.
On Oct. 4, 2022, Lapid was shot dead inside his vehicle while he was entering an exclusive village in Las Piñas City.
The hearing on the radio broadcaster's slay case is still ongoing.
In April, Las Piñas Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 254 ordered the arrest of Bantag former Bureau of Correction (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag, former BuCor deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta, and two Bilibid inmates who are allegedy behind Lapid's murder.
