Bantag co-accused sentenced to 2-8 years for Percy Lapid murder

Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

<div class='embed-wrap'><figure data-feedback='fb:likes,fb:comments'><img alt='Percy Lapid Fire Facebook account' src='https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/21/20221004-percy-lapid-fire.jpg' ><figcaption>Radio commentator Percy Lapid. <em>Percy Lapid Fire Facebook account</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — A Las Piñas City court has sentenced Denver Mayores, an accessory to the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid, to 2 to 8 years imprisonment, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. </p><p>In a statement, the DOJ said Mayores pleaded guilty as an accessory to the crime which led to his conviction handed down by Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Judge Harold Huliganga on December 4. </p><p>Mayores supposedly conspired with former prisons chief Gerald Bantag.</p><p>Police alleged that Bantag and his deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta were behind the murder of Mabasa, who went by the name Percy Lapid in his radio program that criticized several government officials and policies.</p><p>“The conviction of Mayores, who initially faced a murder complaint as a principal by indispensable cooperation, underscores the complex web of involvement in Lapid’s assassination,” the DOJ said.</p><p>The department also noted that the development follows the conviction of three other Bilibid gang leaders, namely Aldrin Galicia, Alvin Labra and Alfie Penaredonda. </p><p>The trio were allegedly involved in the death of Jun Villamor, a prison inmate who allegedly passed the kill order to the gunman who shot Mabasa. </p><figure class='op-interactive'><iframe height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBJsNk64QEg?enablejsapi=1' width='560'></iframe></figure><div class='iwantbar'>Watch more News on <a href='https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news' target='_blank'>iWantTFC</a></div><p>The DOJ said it was closely observing ongoing legal proceedings, including the case of alleged gunman Joel Escorial, who is seeking a lower sentence and transfer to Abuyog prison in Leyte. </p><p>“The court is set to rule on Escorial in February 2024,” Roy Mabasa, brother of Percy Lapid, said on X.</p><ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/08/23/bantag-questions-doj-indictment-before-ca'>‘No direct link:’ Bantag questions DOJ indictment before CA</a></li></ul><p>Bantag had previously denied any corruption or role in the killings.</p><p>The killings have put alleged abuses in the country's overcrowded prisons in the spotlight.</p><p>After his sacking, Bantag admitted that he ordered a huge pit dug beside his home inside a Manila prison complex, but denied it was an escape tunnel for inmates.</p><p>He said he wanted to create the "deepest swimming pool" in Manila, to use for scuba diving.</p><p>Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla had said that Bantag had told him he was searching for fabled treasure stolen from around Southeast Asia by Japanese forces in World War II and rumored to be buried in the Philippines.</p><ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/18/22/bantag-digging-for-yamashita-treasure-in-bilibid-says-remulla'>Remulla says Bantag told him he was digging for Yamashita treasure in Bilibid</a></li></ul><p><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></p><figure class='op-interactive'><iframe height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jrs_EsCS8UM?enablejsapi=1' width='560'></iframe></figure><div class='iwantbar'>Watch more News on <a href='https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news' target='_blank'>iWantTFC</a></div>

<p>Police alleged that Bantag and his deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta were behind the murder of Mabasa, who went by the name Percy Lapid in his radio program that criticized several government officials and policies.</p><p>“The conviction of Mayores, who initially faced a murder complaint as a principal by indispensable cooperation, underscores the complex web of involvement in Lapid’s assassination,” the DOJ said.</p><p>The department also noted that the development follows the conviction of three other Bilibid gang leaders, namely Aldrin Galicia, Alvin Labra and Alfie Penaredonda. </p><p>The trio were allegedly involved in the death of Jun Villamor, a prison inmate who allegedly passed the kill order to the gunman who shot Mabasa. </p><figure class='op-interactive'><iframe height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBJsNk64QEg?enablejsapi=1' width='560'></iframe></figure><div class='iwantbar'>Watch more News on <a href='https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news' target='_blank'>iWantTFC</a></div><p>The DOJ said it was closely observing ongoing legal proceedings, including the case of alleged gunman Joel Escorial, who is seeking a lower sentence and transfer to Abuyog prison in Leyte. </p><p>“The court is set to rule on Escorial in February 2024,” Roy Mabasa, brother of Percy Lapid, said on X.</p><ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/08/23/bantag-questions-doj-indictment-before-ca'>‘No direct link:’ Bantag questions DOJ indictment before CA</a></li></ul><p>Bantag had previously denied any corruption or role in the killings.</p><p>The killings have put alleged abuses in the country's overcrowded prisons in the spotlight.</p><p>After his sacking, Bantag admitted that he ordered a huge pit dug beside his home inside a Manila prison complex, but denied it was an escape tunnel for inmates.</p><p>He said he wanted to create the "deepest swimming pool" in Manila, to use for scuba diving.</p><p>Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla had said that Bantag had told him he was searching for fabled treasure stolen from around Southeast Asia by Japanese forces in World War II and rumored to be buried in the Philippines.</p><ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/18/22/bantag-digging-for-yamashita-treasure-in-bilibid-says-remulla'>Remulla says Bantag told him he was digging for Yamashita treasure in Bilibid</a></li></ul><p><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></p><figure class='op-interactive'><iframe height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jrs_EsCS8UM?enablejsapi=1' width='560'></iframe></figure><div class='iwantbar'>Watch more News on <a href='https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news' target='_blank'>iWantTFC</a></div>

<p>In a statement, the DOJ said Mayores pleaded guilty as an accessory to the crime which led to his conviction handed down by Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Judge Harold Huliganga on December 4. </p><p>Mayores supposedly conspired with former prisons chief Gerald Bantag.</p>

<div class='embed-wrap'><figure data-feedback='fb:likes,fb:comments'><img alt='Percy Lapid Fire Facebook account' src='https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/21/20221004-percy-lapid-fire.jpg' ><figcaption>Radio commentator Percy Lapid. <em>Percy Lapid Fire Facebook account</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — A Las Piñas City court has sentenced Denver Mayores, an accessory to the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid, to 2 to 8 years imprisonment, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. </p>

A court sentenced Denver Mayores, an accessory to the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid, to 2 to 8 years imprisonment, the DOJ said.

Bantag co-accused sentenced to 2-8 years for Percy Lapid murder | ABS-CBN News

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Bantag co-accused sentenced to 2-8 years for Percy Lapid murder

Bantag co-accused sentenced to 2-8 years for Percy Lapid murder