Gunman who killed Philippine radio broadcaster surrenders after manhunt
The gunman who killed a veteran radio broadcaster in the Philippines has surrendered to authorities, admitting he was part of a gun-for-hire team ordered to kill Percival Mabasa.
Mabasa was known for his fiery commentaries against former president Rodrigo Duterte, and was also critical of policies and officials currently serving under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He was killed on Oct 4 by several gunmen in front of his gated community in Las Piñas City.
Joel Estorial, 39, was presented to the media by Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and the police on Tuesday, a day after he turned himself in, according to the police. But the victim’s brother Roy Mabasa, also a journalist, later said the authorities already reached out to him on Friday informing him about the surrender.
Estorial claimed someone from the New Bilibid Prison, the country’s maximum-security jail in Muntinlupa City, ordered him and four others to kill Mabasa. It is unclear for now if this person was a civilian or an inmate.
The authorities identified at least three other suspects who remain at large: Brothers Edmon and Israel Dimaculangan, and someone known as “Orly”.
Estorial said their gun-for-hire group received a total of 550,000 pesos (S$13,000) for killing Mabasa, with 140,000 pesos deposited directly into his bank account.
An emotional Estorial said he surrendered out of guilt and fear, after authorities extracted his photo from the enhanced CCTV footage and released it to the public. He asked for forgiveness from Mabasa’s family.
“We were told that whoever will be closest to Percy will be the one to shoot him. I just happen to be that guy. They said if I don’t shoot him, they would kill me instead,” said Estorial. “I am so sorry. I didn’t want to do it”.
Mabasa’s brother, Roy Mabasa, doubts Estorial is truly the gunman, as he supposedly does not look like the suspect captured by the CCTV. He hopes the police would allow him to question Estorial.
“I hope the police would look into this closely… If we arrest the wrong gunman, it won’t lead us to the actual matermind,” he said.
The bounty for the killers of Mabasa, locally known as Percy Lapid, has already reached 6.5 million pesos.
Mabasa’s death drew widespread condemnation and once again put the spotlight on reporters’ safety in the Philippines, deemed one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) welcomed Estorial’s surrender, hopeful that it would eventually lead to the mastermind’s arrest.
“Accountability in this case will help chip away at the culture of impunity around journalist killings that media, civil society and government agencies have been working to change,” said NUJP.