MANILA, Philippines – A Muntinlupa court has issued a warrant of arrest against former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director general Gerald Bantag and corrections official Ricardo Zulueta over the death of Jun Villamor, the alleged middleman who contacted people to allegedly kill broadcaster Percy Lapid.

A copy of the arrest warrant was provided to the media by the BuCor.

The warrant was issued by Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 Presiding Judge Gener Gito in an order dated April 12.

In the warrant, the judge reiterated that Bantag and Zulueta’s offense is non-bailable.

Angie Bautista, BuCor executive assistant, confirmed to Rappler that the warrant is in relation to Villamor’s death.

A day after the Muntinlupa court issued the warrant, Las Piñas City RTC Branch 254 also issued a warrant of arrest against Bantag, Zulueta, brothers Edmon and Isreal Dimaculangan, and certain “Orly” over Lapid’s death. 

The order was dated April 14 and signed by Las Piñas City RTC Branch 254 Presiding Judge Harold Cesar Huligaga. The warrant also reiterated that the offense is non-bailable.

Lapid, a vocal critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte and incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants in Las Piñas City on October 3, 2022. Lapid was the second journalist to be killed under Marcos, and the 197th since 1986, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. (READ: IN NUMBERS: Filipino journalists killed since 1986)

Shortly after the killing, the self-confessed gunman in the alleged crime, Joel Escorial, surrendered to the authorities and implicated his companions who allegedly took part in the killing. Lapid’s death again exposed flaws in the country’s corrections system because some persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were implicated in the case. 

Among the PDLs tagged was Villamor, believed to be the middleman between the alleged mastermind and the alleged killers. But on October 20, 2022, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla revealed that Villamor died inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

(READ: Even behind bars, prisoners take part in crimes. Here’s why.)

Villamor’s first autopsy conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation said the PDL died with “no apparent sign of external physical injury.” However, the second autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, revealed that Villamor died after he was suffocated with a plastic bag. Villamor was also killed the same day Escorial surrendered. 

In November last year, Escorial said a certain “Bantag” ordered them to kill Lapid and that Villamor told him that if he would be caught, to not disclose that it was Bantag who gave the order. On November 7, 2022, authorities filed two separate murder complaints against Bantag, Zulueta, and other PDLs before the justice department over Lapid and Villamor’s deaths. 

On December 5, 2022, Bantag showed up at the justice department after skipping the first preliminary probe into the murder complaints he faced back then. Meanwhile, Zulueta’s counsel, Lauro Gacayan, posted a photo of his client also in December last year and said Zulueta was ready to answer allegations against him.

On March 14, DOJ prosecutors indicted Bantag and others over the two killings. The murder charges were filed before the RTCs of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa City. The DOJ cited jurisdiction on where the alleged offenses were committed: Lapid’s killing in Las Piñas, and Villamor’s death in Bilibid. – Rappler.com