Ricardo Zulueta, the co-accused in the killing of broadcaster Percival Mabasa or Percy Lapid, has died, according to Dinalupihan Bataan police. He was 42.
Based on the initial report obtained by DZRH News, the former Senior Jail Officer 3 passed away due to heart failure on Friday at 11 p.m.
Zulueta was rushed to Bataan Peninsula Medical Center by his brother, Ronald S. Zulueta, at 10:00 p.m. but was later declared dead.
Police said Zulueta was brought to Holy Life Funeral Services in Brgy. New San Jose, Dinalupihan Bataan.
His wake is now being held in Barangay Mabiga in Hermosa, Bataan.
It can be recalled that murder charges have been brought against him, former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag, and ten other persons deprived of liberty (PDL) in connection with the killings of Lapid and Jun Villamor, the purported middleman in the Lapid case.
Villamor was killed inside the New Bilibid Prison shortly after confessed gunman Joel Escorial surrendered.
Bantag and Zulueta are the alleged masterminds in the killing of Lapid, who was shot dead near his home in a gated subdivision in Las Piñas in 2022.
Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 issued an order for Bantag and Zulueta's arrest in April of last year.
In December 2022, Zulueta's lawyer, Lauro Gacayan, clarified that Zulueta was alive and not hiding in response to reports that his client was possibly dead.
The Department of Justice announced that it will offer ₱3 million in reward money to anyone who can provide “credible information” that will lead to the arrest of Bantag and Zulueta.
Muntinlupa court has ordered the archiving of the murder case against them.
