Percival Mabasa had just finished hosting his in-depth radio programme 'Lapid Fire'. His family: 'His bold and insightful comments emerged from the barrage of false information, both on the airwaves and in social media. In his programmes he was not afraid to criticise the historical distortions of the Martial Law period propagated by Duterte and Marcos Jr.
Manila (AsiaNews) - Another journalist, the second in the first hundred days of Ferdinand Marcos Jr's presidency, was assassinated on Monday evening in Las Piñas one of the municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the Philippine capital. Percival Mabasa, better known by the name he gave himself as Percy Lapid, was shot dead by two as yet unidentified individuals. Mabasa had recently finished hosting his in-depth programme 'Lapid Fire', broadcast on the radio station DWBL 1242.
As the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines recalled, the radio presenter was the 197th media worker to suffer a violent death since the 'flowers and rosaries' revolution that decreed the end of the Marcos dictatorship in February 1986. A confirmation of statistics, including that of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which in 2021 ranked the Philippines seventh in the list of countries for killings of journalists that went unpunished.
The police launched investigations, pledging to provide extensive and timely information about the crime. For its part, the family of the slain expressed condolences, but also pledged not to let the death of their spouse go unpunished.
'We strongly condemn this deplorable crime; it was committed not only against Percy, his family, and his professional, but against our country, his beloved Philippines, and the truth,' said his brother Roy Mabasa, also a long-time journalist. Roy also recalled his brother as an individual 'was beloved by many and highly respected by peers, fans, and foes alike', adding that 'his bold and sharp commentaries cut through the barrage of fake news over the air waves and on social media'.
Reactions from the political world, in particular the opposition, were also immediate. While the head of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, Robin Padilla, called for the immediate arrest of the culprits, Leni Robredo - former vice-president under the previous administration of Rodrigo Duterte and a leading figure in the parliamentary opposition - urged the authorities not to fail in their duty of justice.
Senator Risa Hontiveros took a stronger stance, speaking of a "brazen attack on press freedom. But this also demonstrates the inherent power of speech and truth telling'. Human rights activist Neri Colmenares finally described Lapid as a dissident who 'spoke against fake news, he was brave enough to discuss the perils of red-tagging, and he was not afraid to speak against the historical distortions of Martial Law'. A reference, this, to the revision of the Marcos era and the figure of the former dictator who died in exile in 1989 initiated by Duterte and still ongoing during the presidency of his son Ferdinand Marcos Jr.