Speaker Martin Romualdez on Sunday announced a P5-million reward from the House of Representatives for anyone who can provide information that will lead to the arrest of those responsible for the killing of veteran broadcaster Percival Mabasa, known in the media industry as Percy Lapid.
Romualdez said the bounty will come from the personal contributions of House members who were disturbed by the killing that happened in Metro Manila.
“We in the House view with concern the killing of Percy Mabasa. The perpetrators and the masterminds behind this dastardly act must be brought to justice at all costs,” he said.
“Violence has no place in a civilized society like ours,” Romualdez added.
This brought the total reward put out for the capture of people connected to the shooting to P6.5 million.
Romualdez lamented the continued violence against media workers.
“The role of journalists is very critical in ensuring transparency in government. Protecting them is very important in guaranteeing freedom of speech and freedom of expression. We in government, consider them as partners in nation-building,” said the Speaker, whose family owns the Standard.
Mabasa was buried at the Manila Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon five days after he was gunned down in Las Piñas City.
He is the second journalist killed under the Marcos administration, and the 196th media worker killed since 1986, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
The NUJP said many of these cases have either remained unresolved or have only been traced to the killers but not the masterminds.
His brother, journalist Roy Mabasa, said he believes the killing was connected to Percy’s work.
“Let’s not be sad because your presence here is one way of showing the immense legacy Percy left behind… I hope it would plant a seed for the fight for our liberty,” Roy said.