LAGIM: A Filipino True Crime · LAGIM Podcast

The Assassination of Percy (Lapid) Mabasa

·58 min·3 clips

Villamor sent a 11:59 a.m. Facebook Messenger warning naming prison commanders before he died.

1. Lagim: A Filipino True Crime focuses on the assassination of Percy Lapid and on the pressures facing journalists in the Philippines. 2. The host speaks as the creator of Lagim, a former lawyer in the UK who says the show grew to almost 34,000 Spotify followers and 1.2 million plus downloads. 3. The episode asks what Percy Lapid’s killing says about press freedom, prison power, and the country’s culture of impunity. 4. The narration identifies Percy Lapid as Percival Karagmabasa, born March 14, 1959, and describes him as a veteran journalist, columnist, and broadcaster. 5. Lapid Fire on DWBL is presented as a long-running radio show that also reached more than 200,000 YouTube subscribers. 6. Percy is described as a direct critic of corruption, disinformation, red-tagging, the Duterte war on drugs, and the Marcos Jr. sugar importation fiasco. 7. The episode says Percy’s reputation made him a target in a country where journalists face legal harassment, surveillance, and physical danger. 8. The case begins with Joel Escorial being contacted in prison by Crisanto Palagna Villamor on September 5, 2022. 9. Escorial is told he can receive 550,000 pesos to kill Percy Lapid, and he later receives deposits of 50,000 pesos and 100,000 pesos. 10. The account traces surveillance in Las Piñas and Mandaluyong, where Escorial, Israel Dimakulangan, Edmond Dimakulangan, and Orly followed Percy’s routines and routes. 11. On October 3, 2022, Joel Escorial fires three shots into Percy Lapid near Aria Street in Santa Cecilia village, Las Piñas City. 12. The episode says the attack led to the creation of a special task force, a reward offer from Ben-Hur Abalos, and national scrutiny of journalist safety. 13. The narration places Percy’s burial on October 9, 2022 at Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City and notes that he became the 197th journalist killed since 1986. 14. The episode then widens to the Philippines’ press-freedom climate, citing NUJP warnings about harassment, SLAPP suits, cyber libel, censorship, and red-tagging. 15. A specific example is Frenchie May Cumpio, who is described as having spent more than five years in jail on firearm and terrorist-financing charges. 16. Bulatlat is named as one of the outlets targeted by a government memorandum that sought to block critical websites. 17. The investigation turns again on October 17, 2022, when Escorial surrenders and says he was paid to kill Percy Lapid. 18. Crisanto Villamor later sends his sister a Facebook Messenger message at 11:59 a.m. on October 18, naming prison commanders and warning her if he dies. 19. The episode’s tone is investigative and emotionally direct, and the host pauses repeatedly to explain the legal and prison details as the case unfolds. 20. Listeners interested in Philippine journalism, prison corruption, and true-crime investigation will get the most from this episode, while listeners wanting light entertainment may skip it.

As heard by us

A measured account of press freedom, impunity, and the limits of one encouraging data point.

The piece treats a rare improvement in press safety in the Philippines as progress without pretending it amounts to real protection. It leans on the CPJ report, keeps the warning that those behind past killings still need to face justice, and returns to the same hard point…

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Why you'd press play

You want a Filipino true-crime listen about journalists, impunity, and the pressure of speaking publicly.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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