THE EYES HAVE IT | Confessed gunman Joel Escorial arrives at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday for the first hearing on the Percival Mabasa murder. One of the alleged brains, suspended prisons chief Gerald Bantag, did not appear on account of a wrong middle name in the summons. (Photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Suspended prison agency chief Gerald Bantag skipped the preliminary inquiry into the murders of radio broadcaster Percival 鈥淧ercy Lapid鈥� Mabasa and alleged middleman Cristito 鈥淛un Villamor鈥� Pala帽a, as Bantag鈥檚 lawyer seized onto the wrong middle name in the summons that for him was a 鈥渇atal鈥� defect in the case.
Lawyer Rocky Balisong pointed out during Wednesday鈥檚 proceeding that the subpoena he received on Monday requiring his client, whose middle name is Quitaleg, to attend the hearing had been addressed to a 鈥淕erald Soriano Bantag.鈥�
鈥淭hat is fatal because it refers to two different individuals. Definitely, Gerald Bantag y Soriano is not our client, it is Gerald Bantag y Quitaleg,鈥� Balisong told reporters after the hearing.
But Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie Guhit refuted Balisong鈥檚 claim that the mistake was anything crucial.
He told reporters that the matter was duly addressed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel during the hearing.
鈥淎lso, another subpoena was issued by the panel and was accordingly received by Attorney Balisong. Moreover, he manifested that all orders of the panel may be addressed to his law office in Baguio City,鈥� Guhit said.
Bantag, who is on preventive suspension as director general of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and his purported right-hand man, BuCor Deputy Security Officer Ricardo Zulueta, whose whereabouts are unknown, are respondents in the consolidated cases for the murders of Mabasa on Oct. 3 and Pala帽a on Oct. 18.
Principals by inducement
Bantag, along with Zulueta, was charged as a principal 鈥渂y inducement鈥� in the murders purportedly over a grudge due to the journalist鈥檚 hard-hitting commentaries against him on radio and the latter鈥檚 widely followed social media platforms.
Mabasa was shot dead on Oct. 3 by one of two men on a motorcycle near the gate of the Las Pi帽as City subdivision where he lived.
Pala帽a, an inmate at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, was found dead on Oct. 18, a few hours after being implicated as one of the middlemen by the confessed gunman, Joel Escorial, during a news conference arranged by authorities.
An independent autopsy by forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun showed he may have been suffocated to death with a plastic bag.
Disappointed but hopeful
Mabasa鈥檚 younger brother, journalist Roy Mabasa, who attended the preliminary investigation, expressed disappointment over the absence of Bantag and Zulueta but added that his family remained hopeful that justice would be served.
鈥淒elays may be part of our quest for justice. But every delay, of course, is an injustice to Ka Percy,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e not in a hurry. We remain hopeful 鈥� what we鈥檙e searching for is justice, and we know that this is not an easy process,鈥� he added.
Mabasa said the error in Bantag鈥檚 name didn鈥檛 dent his confidence in the competence and fairness of the DOJ panel.
He told the Inquirer he was optimistic that new evidence presented by the National Bureau of Investigation to the prosecutors 鈥渨ould help strengthen the case against Mr. Bantag and others.鈥�
The evidence was received by the three-member panel consisting of Deputy State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevilla and Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Josie Christina Dugay and Guhit.
The next hearing is on Dec. 5 but Mabasa said he didn鈥檛 believe either Bantag or Zulueta would show up.
鈥淭hey might just present counteraffidavits, as [the lawyers] did not say or signify that they will make their clients attend,鈥� he said.
Losing end of public opinion
But Mabasa cautioned Bantag and Zulueta that they might find themselves at the 鈥渓osing end鈥� of public opinion by their absence.
鈥淭hey should show up 鈥� speak right [where] the hearing is. That is the right process,鈥� he said.
Mabasa said Bantag鈥檚 absence might also be related to recent allegations against him by BuCor.
Since his suspension, BuCor officials have found various questionable activities at NBP, including a 30-meter-deep excavation allegedly in a clandestine hunt for 鈥淵amashita treasure,鈥� an assortment of unauthorized animals, including horses and pythons, and various contraband items, including over 7,500 cans of beer.
鈥淸Bantag] has a lot to answer for, aside from this case of Percy and [the] alleged middleman,鈥� Mabasa said, adding: 鈥淭here are so many issues thrown at him, not just from our family, but from the DOJ itself [and] BuCor, as these all happened under his stewardship.鈥�