The ambush of Percival “Lapid” Mabasa on October 3, the surrender/arrest of gunman Joel Escorial last October 17, the incredulous death (by bangungot) of one alleged middleman inside the NBP cell at noon after his name came up in the confession of Escorial and the death threats received by the sister of the alleged middle man and the Mabasa family are just a few circumstantial evidences of how our jail system has deteriorated into a haven of killers, syndicated crimes and guns-for-hire.
To recall, former Senator Leila de Lima, who was incarcerated since 2017 on alleged drug charges, last October 9 almost got killed when one of three inmates managed to get into her maximum- security cell that quiet Sunday morning at the PNP Custodial Center.
Looking at both instances would convince one that: 1) jail guards have become lax in their duties, particularly on rules against mobile phones and deadly weapons inside; 2) a possible chain of command that inmates follow (among peers or even authorities supposed to guard them); 3) a cover-up of possible jail staff or officers who give “mission orders” to these inmates; 4) lack of coordination between the departments of justice and interior and local governments that have jurisdiction over these prison facilities; and 5) an obvious serious breakdown in the police psyche from the kill orders they used to get from the previous administration.
Even PNP chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and DoJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Mabasa’s kin (who received death threats along with the sister of the alleged mastermind) find the Lapid case as far from close with so many incredulous loose ends—like the alleged middleman’s death from bangungot on October 18 and his immediate embalming which makes toxicology tests inutile.
The alleged middleman Crisanto Villamor (aka Cristito “Jun Villamor” Palaña) and three more accomplices named by Escorial namely Christopher Bacoto, an inmate at BJMP, and brothers Edmund and Israel Dimaculangan, and “Orly” the mastermind, might soon be dead to stop the case from blowing out.
The 90-day suspension of Bureau of Corrections Director General Gerald Bantag as ordered by Remulla following President Marcos’ directive, was meant to guarantee an impartial investigation on Villamor’s death.
Azurin could not believe the bangungot excuse saying: “It’s impossible to fall asleep because it’s too hot and congested there. I wonder how he was able to fall asleep.”
Mabasa said he and his family members have been getting calls, texts and FB chats from unidentified persons with words:
‘Huwag kayong papakasigurado, baka isunod kayo.”
The PNP is also looking into at least 160 personalities, including Bantag, who were frequently targeted by Mabasa in more than 600 posts that it has reviewed since 2021, as persons of interest including politicians, military and police officers.
Villamor messaged his sister (a certain Marissa) before he died saying:
“Ate, whatever happens to me, if I were to die, keep this a secret. If I die, then reveal it. But as long as I’m alive, keep it to yourself. But when I’m gone, let Joel [Escorial, the self-confessed gunman] that the order came from three commanders here — Sputnik, Happy Go Lucky, and BCJ. Their order came from the office.”
Asked which office Villamor was referring to, Marissa said:
“The one there in Bilibid.”
Marissa became more suspicious after her sibling was not allowed to visit the funeral home where Villamor’s body was kept and instead was only shown a picture of his face. Her sibling told her that no cause of death was indicated in the death certificate.
Marisa was put under the Witness Protection Security and Benefit Program after she sought help from Sen. Raffy Tulfo and Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo to get the body of her brother back.
If foul play was involved in the death of the alleged middleman, it only goes to show that the party behind the murder had been one step ahead of the police. With the middleman now conveniently gone, hopes of identifying the mastermind have dimmed, said the Inquirer editorial.
Such confusion and labyrinthine twists and turns in the story, not to mention the lack of coordination among the different agencies, have done little to shore up the credibility of the investigation on Mabasa’s killing. Not only have such lapses slowed down the resolution of the case, but they’ve also given those involved in the murder the opportunity to pull strings to cover their tracks.
Under Bantag’s term, the BuCor had recorded the highest number of prisoner deaths per year since 1990. At the onset of the pandemic, the BuCor recorded 1,082 deaths, up by 43.5 percent from 754 deaths the previous year, Inquirer said.
The Marcos administration must seriously undertake immediate reforms in the national penitentiary to prevent it from further deteriorating into a haven of criminals and killers.