The brother of slain veteran broadcast commentator Pervical Mabasa or popularly known as Percy Lapid took over the latter’s hard-hitting radio show “Lapid Fire.”
In a Facebook post on Monday, veteran journalist Roy Mabasa announced that he will be the new anchor of the program starting Dec. 7.
“Join us in continuing Ka Percy’s legacy of fearless truth telling!” Roy captioned in the post.
The said program will air Monday to Friday, from 10 pm until 11 pm on DWBL 1242 kHz. It can also be watched on Percy Lapid’s official Facebook page and Youtube channel.
In an interview with journalist Christian Esguerra on "Facts First", Roy admitted that he could not completely fill in the shoes of his brother.
“Alam natin na mahirap palitan si Ka-Percy dahil binabalikan ko lahat ng mga episode niya at tinitimbang ko kung alin ang kaya ko at hindi ko kaya. Napakarami kong hindi kaya," he shared.
Despite the warnings that taking over may endanger his life like his brother, Roy said he decided to host the show due to the requests made by the avid listeners of "Lapid Fire."
"Ang pinangako sa kanila ay hindi ko po kayang tapatan si Ka-Percy subalit ang paninindigan niya po ay tutuloy natin,” he said.
Roy is a former reporter in Manila Bulletin and the former president of the Philippine National Press Club.
Lapid was gunned down in his vehicle while entering an exclusive village in Las Piñas City on Oct. 4, 2022.
A month after, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) filed murder charges against suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Chief Gerald Bantag.
Bantag and BuCor Directorate for Security and Operations Supt. Ricardo Zulueta was tagged as the “mastermind” in the murders of Lapid and alleged middleman Cristito ‘Jun’ Villamor.
The preliminary investigation of the slay cases has not yet begun as it was stalled two times.
Last Monday, Dec. 5, Bantag's filed a motion seeking to inhibit the justice department to probe the cases and transfer them to the Office of the Ombudsman.
