BAGUIO CITY — Ricardo Zulueta, a former Bureau of Corrections deputy director for security and operations accused of being a mastermind in the killing of a journalist and a BuCor inmate, denied on Saturday that he had any involvement in the murders.

“Wala pong katotohanan ‘yan,” Zulueta told ABS-CBN News in a video call facilitated by his lawyer, Lauro Gacayan.

“Napagbintangan lang po kami d'yan. Wala pong katotohanan yung mga complaint na finile nila,” he said.

On Nov. 7, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Department of Justice (DOJ) filed murder charges against Zulueta, former BuCor director general Gerald Bantag, and several BuCor inmates for their supposed role in the shooting of radio commentator Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa and alleged middleman Jun Villamor.

• Murder raps filed vs Bantag, BuCor official in Lapid/Villamor killings

Several inmates tagged Zulueta as the one who allegedly ordered the killings, purportedly under instructions from Bantag.

Surveillance footage supposedly showed gang leaders enter the BuCor admin office allegedly to meet with Zulueta and plot the killings.

While Zulueta admitted that he did call for a meeting, he claimed that it was for a different matter.

“Noong pinatawag ko sila dahil may mga request sila regarding sa mga construction materials. Gusto nilang ipasok pampagawa doon sa mga tindahan ng mga kasamahan nila,” he said.

He denied there was any talk of killings during the meeting.

Zulueta said that at the time, he was assigned as superintendent at the minimum security compound and could not easily enter the maximum security compound without permission from the superintendent in charge of the area.

Asked why and who would implicate him in the killings, Zulueta surmised drug lords must be behind the move to pin him and Bantag down, although he did not back this with any proof.

“Sa dami po ng mga hindi makaporma na mga drug lords dahil sa higpit na ginagawa namin, talagang gagawa at gagawa sila nang paraan para siraan kami,” he said, referring to the clearing operations and demolition of luxury kubols or huts they implemented at the New Bilibid Prison.

Zulueta, who surfaced for the first time in photos posted Friday by his lawyer since the controversy started, denied he was in hiding although he admitted he has been moving around and not been staying in one place because he and his family have been receiving death threats.

• Ex Bucor official Zulueta photographed in Baguio; not in hiding says lawyer

One threat, conveyed through a colleague, allegedly warned him he won’t last beyond December.

Despite a subpoena received by his wife to attend the DOJ’s preliminary investigation, Zulueta did not show up during the Nov. 23 and Dec. 5 setting, prompting speculations as to his status and whereabouts, with some surmising he has been killed or is no longer in the country.

Explaining his absence, he said that the subpoena did not include a copy of the complaint-affidavit so he was not aware of the allegations.

His newly-hired lawyer backed him up, calling it “useless” to attend a probe without a clear idea of the allegations.

But Gacayan said they have now started preparing Zulueta’s counter-affidavit which they intend to submit as soon as DOJ prosecutors are able to resolve the motion for inhibition Bantag filed against the panel.

Bantag had accused the DOJ panel and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla of bias. Zulueta said he shares the same view.

Zulueta called on the DOJ to be fair in its probe and to be consistent with its findings, citing the diverging results between the first and second autopsies of Villamor's body.

The first autopsy, conducted by the NBI, suggested Villamor died of natural causes. But the second one, conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, found Villamor was killed through plastic suffocation.

“Sa tingin ko po, hindi po patas. Lahat ng paninira inabot na namin. Ganun ba ang patas? Diniretso na kaagad na kami, kami, kami. Di man lang kami binigayn ng pagkakaton magpaliwanag,” Zulueta said.

For Zulueta’s lawyer, his client has already been pre-judged even before trial could start due to statements given by Remulla to the media.

“Yung panel of prosecutors appointed by him, are they in a position to say, 'No'? He said already na parang guilty siya eh. So, we are not sure of a fair hearing before the Department of Justice,” Gacayan pointed out.

“So whatever resolutions they have, one of our rights is to file a petition for review questioning it. And it will go to him, ultimately. Meaning, ultimately, siya rin lang,” he said.

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