THE Court of Appeals has dismissed the petition of former Bureau of Corrections director general Gerald Bantag to exonerate him from the 2022 killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid (real name: Percival Mabasa) and the death of New Bilibid Prison inmate Jun Villamor.

In a four-page petition dated June 19 signed by Associate Justice Ronaldo Roberto Martin, the Second Division of the Court of Appeals upheld the Regional Trial Court of Las Piñas City ruling, denying the petition for certiorari filed by Bantag, citing failure to follow procedural rules.