Second – I gather that he is one of your cuisine idols and in retracing your lechon odyssey, I can’t avoid noticing that your entire exploration embodies and affirms his view that it is not brain surgery to be a great cook, you need only to:

Use the best ingredients;
Use the best tools;
Do the task over and over again until it is mastered.

Finally – You recounted not finding any guide about the subject when you set out in your lechon adventure and yet arrived at the destination crowned with a resounding validation from no less that AB himself who has gone great distances seeking the ultimate pig treats and therefore knows whereof he speaks. Forgive me then for leaving out passion, your most important ingredient methinks, and tongue-in-cheekyly encapsulate the feat with:

A gourmet, roasting pigs in Cebu,
Turns them crisp and so crunchy to chew,
Well, the secret is pin,
To punch holes on the skin,
The stuffing, and his army of crew.