EDITORIAL - Bantag turns the tables

Here’s another twist that we didn’t see coming in the murder case of journalist Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa. Gerald Bantag, the former head of the Bureau of Corrections and currently accused of Mabasa’s murder, said the actual people behind it are no less than Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and acting BuCor chief Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr.

Bantag has filed murder charges against Remulla and Catapang, aside from accusing them of conspiring to frame him for the murder.

"Secretary Remulla prematurely stopped the investigation purposely to shield his name from coming out in the investigation," Bantag claimed in his complaint.

He said Remulla had reason to hate Mabasa because the journalist criticized him twice during his programs.

Bantag may just be trying to buy himself some time by muddying the waters, but on the other hand he may actually be putting this investigation on the right track.

The longer it takes to solve this case the more bizarre it becomes, and the more blurred the real picture is turning out to be. The twists are becoming more like that in a telenovela instead of real life.

Solving this case quickly is the best way to get to the bottom of his mystery. As more time passes people in authority lose interest, evidence has a way of disappearing or getting tampered with, and witnesses lose their memories or, worse, their lives.

We must remember that inmate Jun Villamor, the man accused of hiring Joel Escorial to kill Mabasa, and someone who can point to who ordered the murder, was himself murdered in prison. This gives us the feeling that no one who is in the know about this high-profile murder is really safe.

Incidentally, Remulla’s son was recently acquitted of drug possession after just three months from his arrest, a short time considering how slowly justice moves here in the Philippines. Perhaps something can be done to get the ball rolling a bit faster in the Mabasa case.