Hontiveros bares communications to Lapid's family linking Bantag to journalist’s murder

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday disclosed audio recordings and screenshots of communications made by anonymous people allegedly threatening the family of slain journalist Percy Lapid.
 
At a press conference, Hontiveros said Lapid's family provided her with details of the threats that they had received, including offers to provide information on suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag's alleged involvement in the case.
 
The senator narrated that one of Lapid's children was told by a caller, who refused to identify himself, to inform Lapid's brother, Roy, and Lapid's son, Mark, that their lives were also at risk.
 
The caller prodded Lapid's daughter to tell Roy Mabasa to answer their Facebook messages or contact them through the number that he used to call her.
 
"Nag-chat na kami ni Roy Mabasa. May pinag-usapan na kami. Ibibigay ko sa kanya lahat ng detalye tungkol sa pagkamatay ni Percy Lapid at sa buhay niya, nanganganib din ang buhay niya. Isusunod siya at kapatid niya papatayin din siya," the caller said based on the audio recording that Hontiveros played during the press conference.
 
"Involved si General Bantag sa pagkamatay nitong si Lapid. Kasali si General Bantag," the caller went on.
 
The anonymous caller also told Lapid's daughter that they earlier warned Percy that he might be killed, but the latter did not believe him, and now Roy is also refusing to heed their warning.
 
"Noong una tinatawagan ko si Percy na mag-iingat ka dahil papatayin ka na. Ayaw niyang maniwala. Ngayon si Roy naman. Ayaw maniwala ni Roy sa akin," the caller said.
 
"Maliit na halaga lang hinhingi ko kay Roy para lang isend ko sa kanya ang 'Ocho Boys' ni General Bantag," the caller said.
 
After tagging Bantag, the caller also mentioned a ranking officer whom he called "major" and one artist, whom he said are currently detained inside the Maximum Security Compound of the New Bilibid Prison.
 
In the screenshots of text messages sent to Mark Mabasa, an anonymous number, who claimed that he is still inside the prison, said he has already offered information to Roy and he is willing to send a voice recording of Bantag, which may help them in solving Lapid's case.
 
When Mark did not respond to the text messages, Hontiveros said the anonymous sender threatened Lapid's brother and son.
 
Hontiveros said they would forward these pieces of information to the authorities and called on the cybercrime unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to trace the source and location of these messages.
 
"I believe this may shed light on the murder of Percy Lapid, and at the minimum, those persons should be prosecuted for threatening and extorting money from the family," the senator said.
 
GMA News Online sought Bantag's comment on the matter, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.
 
In an interview on Dobol B TV on Wednesday, Bantag said that drug lords, who are allegedly conspiring against him, might be floating the allegations that he may become involved in Lapid's case.
 
“‘Yan po ang nakikita ko dahil nga makapangyarihan itong mga drug lords at sindikato. Ano po ba ang sinasabi ng ating dating presidente noon? Narco-politics. Malapit na tayong maging narco-politics,” he said when asked if he was concerned that he may become involved in the Lapid case.
 
Bantag was preventively suspended following the death of Jun Villamor, an inmate at the NBP who has been tagged as the middleman in the killing of Lapid.
 
The suspended BuCor chief was also among the 160 "persons of interest" in the killing of Lapid as he was one of the personalities criticized by the late broadcaster in his program, the PNP said. — VBL, GMA News