Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday urged President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. to issue an order protecting the family of the slain radio broadcaster Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa after she revealed a recording of a death threat that the family received from an unknown caller.
In a press briefing, Hontiveros said Mabasa's immediate family and his brother Roy have been fearing for their safety following calls from unknow parties.
"Tiwala po akong mabibigyang proteksyon at suporta ng gobyerno ang mga naulilang asawa at mga anak ni Percy sa lalong madaling panahon. Tandaan rin po natin na hindi lamang ito para sa kapanatagan ng pamilya Mabasa. Ito ay pagtindig rin para sa kalayaan sa pamamahayag, at para sa lahat ng mga journalist na biktima ng karahasan at kawalan ng katarungan," the senator said.
(I am confident that the government will give the bereaved wife and children of Percy an immediate protection and support. We should remember that this is not just for the safety of the Mabasa family, but is also a stand for the freedom of the press and for all journalists who were victims of harassment and injustice.)
"Kung magsalita si Presidente personally tungkol sa kasong ito, hindi po magiging unwelcome iyon. Kung magsasalita siya I just hope, bilang isang mamamayan, magsasalita sila tungkol sa karahasan laban sa isang mamamayan, isa sa mga constituents sa bansang ito, at magsalita rin tungkol sa freedom of the press dahil ‘yon ‘yong isa na pinatay din kasabay ng pagpatay kay Ka Percy,” she added.
(If the President speaks on this issue personally, that would not be unwelcome. If he speaks, I just hope as a Filipino that he would speak on the violence against people, as a constituent of the country, and that he also speaks about the freedom of the press because the killing of Percy is a blow to free speech.)
In a chance interview with reporters earlier, the President himself said that he is not convinced that the alleged middleman in Lapid's killing, inmate Crisanto Palara Villamor Jr. died of natural causes.
"The toxicology report came back and mukha talagang walang lason o walang gamot na ibinigay doon sa namatay (and it seems like there's no poison or drug that was given to him before he died). I'm still not satisfied that it was natural causes," he said.
"There are ways to kill a person that do not show up in the medico legal, so tuloy-tuloy pa ang imbestigasyon (so the investigation continues)," he added.
Villamor was declared "dead on arrival" last October 18 at the hospital inside the New Bilibid Prison — just hours after alleged suspect Joel Estorial surrendered to the police.
Death threats
The unknown caller, according to Hontiveros, contacted the Mabasa's on October 22 and said that Percy's brother Roy, who is also a journalist, and his son Mark were in danger.
"Ngayon si Roy nanaman, ayaw naman maniwala ni Roy sa akin, maliit na halaga lang hinhihngi ko kay Roy para lang isend ko sa kanya ang 'Ocho Boys' ni General Bantag at Maj. (inaudible) na isang inmate din dito sa maxat saka kayi.. yung artsta na dito rin nakakulong," the caller said.
The caller also claimed that he had warned Percy that he would be killed, saying that suspended corrections chief Gerald Bantag was "involved" in the killing.
Bantag is among the persons of interest in the killing whom the Philippine National Police is looking into.
