No foul play in death of Percy Lapid murder co-accused Zulueta —PNP

There was no foul play in the death of Ricardo Zulueta, one of the accused in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.

“Yes po,” PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said in a press conference when asked if there was no foul play.

“Iyong mismong kapatid po ang nagdala sa hospital at even po 'yung common law wife po ni Mr. Zulueta ang magkakasama po sila doon,” she said.

(It was the brother himself who brought Zulueta to the hospital and even the common law wife of Zulueta was with them.)

“A night before na dumating so noong nag-complain na parang naninikip na ang dibdib ay dinala agad nila sa ospital. However, binawian din po ng buhay,” she added.

(A night before they arrived, he complained of chest pain. They immediately took him to the hospital. However, he passed away.)

Citing the death certificate, Fajardo said Zulueta's cause of death was cerebrovascular disease intracranial hemorrhage, which means there was bleeding in his head.

Zulueta, a former Bureau of Corrections official, was rushed to the Bataan Peninsula Medical Center in Dinalupihan town and declared dead at 11 p.m. on Friday, according to the police.

He was 42 years old.

Zulueta’s body was then brought to a funeral home and later transferred to Barangay Mabiga in Hermosa town.

In March 2023, Zulueta was charged in court, along with former BuCor chief Gerald Bantag, with two counts of murder over the alleged killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid and Jun Villamor on October 3 and 18, 2022, respectively.

In April 2023, a Muntinlupa court ordered the arrest of Bantag and Zulueta in connection with the death of Villamor, the alleged middleman in the killing of Lapid.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Sunday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to verify the authenticity of a ''circulating death certificate'' of Zulueta.

"We are still looking into the veracity of these reports and will update the public as soon as we receive word from the NBI,"  Remulla said.

Roy Mabasa, the late broadcaster's brother, said ''an independent autopsy report would assuage the public that we are indeed after the truth.''

''We would like the PNP to ascertain the real cause of his death since he was originally tagged as one of the masterminds in the killing of @lapidfire,'' Mabasa said on X.—AOL, GMA Integrated News