Police deny coordination lapses after death of 'middleman' in Percy Lapid slay

Police Brigadier General Jonnel Estomo, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), on Monday said there were no lapses in police coordination with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) after an alleged middleman in the plot to kill journalist Percy Lapid died inside the New Bilibid Prison.

At a press conference, Estomo responded to the statement of suspended BuCor chief Gerald Bantag that the Philippine National Police (PNP) did not coordinate with the BuCor to secure the middleman.

“Gusto ko i-clarify sa inyo na walang lapse ang PNP. Snappy ang aking [special investigation task group] ko. Depending na rin sa sinabi ni Chief PNP na maganda ang naging imbestigasyon sa Lapid case. Kami ang nagkaroon ng breakthrough,” he said.

(I just want to clarify that there were no lapses in PNP. My SITG was snappy. Like what the Chief PNP said, the investigation in the Lapid cases has been good. We are the one who made a breakthrough.)

On October 18, self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial was presented to the media following his surrender. He named two middlemen including a “Crisanto Villamor” who was detained in the Bilibid.

Estomo admitted that the police indeed failed to instruct the BuCor to secure Villamor because the bureau already told them that there is no one named Crisanto Villamor in the Bilibid.

“Hindi namin naisip yan, sinagot na nga kami na walang Crisanto Villamor [We have not thought of doing that because we were told that there was no Crisanto Villamor there],” he said.

It was found out later on that the middleman was registered in BuCor’s record as Jun Villamor and not Crisanto. It was announced on October 20 that Villamor died inside Bilibid on October 18, hours after Escorial was presented to the media.

Estomo also pointed out that the PNP cannot just order the BuCor to secure Villamor because the bureau is under the Department of Justice (DOJ)

For Estomo, BuCor should have secured all the Villamors inside the Bilibid even without the instruction of the police.

When asked why Bantag was the only one named among 160 persons of interest in the case, Estomo said the focus was shifted to Bantag when Villamor died while under his bureau’s custody.

Lapid, whose real name is Percival Mabasa and was host of an online broadcast program and columnist for a newspaper, was shot dead in Las Piñas City on October 3.  —KBK, GMA News