Suspect in murder of popular journalist surrenders to Philippine police
Manila, Oct 18 (EFE).- The alleged killer of popular journalist Percy Lapid, gunned down on Oct.7, surrendered before the Philippine police on Tuesday, and expressed regret over his death.
Joel Estorial turned himself in at the Quezon City police station in Manila, before addressing a press conference with Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos.
Before the media, Estorial confessed to firing the shots that ended the life of 67 year old Percival Mabasa, widely known as Percy Lapid.
Lapid, a radio commentator critical of the political class, and known for disclosing cases of corruption in Philippine institutions, was shot dead by two individuals on a motorcycle on the night of Oct.7 while on his way to work.
Estorial confessed he was the one who fired the shots from the backseat of the two-wheeler, accompanied by another individual whose identity was not disclosed by the authorities.
“What was discussed was whoever is nearest to Percy, they will shoot him. It just so happened that he was near our team, I said if I will not shoot him, they will kill me, so I shot Percy,” said Estorial.
He also revealed having received the orders for the hit from the New Bilibid Prison, to the south of Manila. He and three other alleged perpetrators were offered 550,000 Philippine pesos ($9,340) for the murder.
Abalos described the surrender as a “success” and urged the other three accomplices to follow suit as it was the best option for them.
The reporter had been critical of the government led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as well as his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.
In his famous late-night radio program “Lapid Fire,” he discussed numerous cases of corruption, besides firmly reprimanding Duterte for his bloody “War on Drugs” that left thousands dead between 2016 and 2022. EFE
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