The Philippine National Police on Monday dismissed the foul play angle in the death of former Bureau of Corrections official Ricardo Zulueta, one of the accused in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid.
In a press conference, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said Zulueta had been experiencing chest pains before his death.
“It was the brother himself who brought Zulueta to the hospital and even the common law wife of Zulueta was with them,” Fajardo told reporters in response to a theory that he was killed.
“The night before they arrived, he complained of chest pain. They immediately took him to the hospital. However, he passed away,” she added.
Fajardo also cited a death certificate showing that Zulueta’s cause of death was cerebrovascular disease intracranial hemorrhage, which means there was bleeding in the brain tissue.
The police earlier reported that the 42-year-old Zulueta was rushed to the Bataan Peninsula Medical Center in Dinalupihan town on Friday. He was declared dead at 11 p.m. on the same day.
Zulueta was tagged along with former BuCor chief Gerald Bantag in the killing of Lapid and New Bilibid Prison inmate Jun Villamor on 3 October and 18 October 2022, respectively.
Zulueta and Bantag were charged with two counts of murder in March last year.
The following month, a Muntinlupa court ordered the arrest of Bantag and Zulueta in connection with the death of Villamor, the alleged middleman in the killing of Lapid.
On Sunday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to verify the authenticity of a “circulating death certificate” of Zulueta.
“We are still looking into the veracity of these reports and will update the public as soon as we receive word from the NBI,” Remulla said.