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JOURNALISTS’ PROTEST RALLY. Print and broadcast journalists hold an indignation rally in downtown Laoag City last week to condemn recent killings of mediamen in the country including their colleague, radio commentator Lito Agustin of DZJC Aksyon Radyo. Latest victim was Jose Daguio of Tabuk, Kalinga. (See related banner story). -- Jun R. Guiang
TABUK CITY – Police have been ordered to arrest the killers of retired broadcaster Jose Daguio, 75, who was shot dead here on July 3.
This, as a village official suspected to be behind the killing turned himself in to police but insisted on his innocence.
Reports said Elorde Marcelino, a councilman of Barangay Tuga here, Kalinga’s capital, went to the police July 4 to clear himself of involvement in the killing of Daguio, the first media casualty under President Aquino’s administration.
Daguio, 75, a member of the Kalinga Media Board who retired as a broadcaster of Radyo Natin-Kalinga, was shot in the chest by a lone suspect in his home night of July 4.
Marcelino underwent a paraffin test to disprove any hand in Daguio’s killing, but the results will still be available.
Senior Supt. Virgilio Laya, Kalinga police director, said they invited Marcelino to shed light on the incident after initial investigation showed he and Daguio recently had an altercation over a waterworks project in their barangay.
Laya said Marcelino “has already been released as the allowed time we could keep him in custody has already lapsed. Based on initial investigation, we can consider him already as a suspect.”
Authorities said the killing of Daguio may not be related to his work as a journalist but they were still investigating.
Laya has taken over the murder probe and manhunt against the killers.
Laya said Daguio started work as radio announcer for government-run dzRK Radio ng Bayan in 1986.
Daguio was also part-time anchorman forRadio Natin, an FM station of the Manila Broadcasting Corp., and a contributor to the Kalinga-based weekly paper, Guru Press.
Laya said Daguio’s son claimed his father’s killing might have something to do with the waterworks project he was implementing here in Barangay Tuga.
It was realigned to a deep well project by a certain barangay official, Daguio’s son added.
Police said the project’s realignment resulted in misunderstanding between Daguio and the barangay official.
Police said Daguio’s son also suspects people involved in illegal activities in Tabuk might be behind the slaying of his father whom they accused of tipping off authorities.
“Another angle being looked into is land dispute,” Laya said.
Daguio’s killing occurred almost two months after a hard-hitting radio reporter also in Tabuk City survived an assassination attempt last May 15.
Radio reporter Jerome Tabanganay of radio dzRK survived a gunshot wound on his leg.
Following this, Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa has proposed a government commission to come up with proactive programs against media killings.
“I will be suggesting to the DOJ and to the CHR to form maybe a higher agency and multi-agency committee so that we will be able to look at other possible methods of approaching the problem on the violence against media personnel,” he said.
“Let us not look only at how to solve a crime that has happened against media personnel and militants but also let us look at things that you should do to prevent the occurrence of such violence.”
“We must get involved in finally coming up with a program to reduce if not prevent the attacks or violence against our media personnel so we want to look at it not only on what to do when something happens but what to do so that that thing will not happen... so let us help each other in this endeavor.”
Verzosa said the government can launch a multi-sectoral approach towards eradicating the attacks and violence against media personnel.
“Just like what we’ve done in some other important or great tasks that we have conducted recently... like our approach to private armies, loose guns, crisis situations and other approaches that need the cooperation of everybody so I enjoin everybody especially our friends from the media that we help each other so that we may be able to implement programs or activities to prevent attacks on media personalities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Baguio-Benguet chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has urged President Aquino to stop the culture of impunity.
“The government failed to promote the interests and welfare of the marginalized sectors and it succeeded in coddling people in the status quo such as the warlords and political kingpins who contributed mainly to the culture of impunity,” read the NUJP statement.
Malacañang ordered police Tuesday to speed up investigation into Daguio’s killing.
Speaking to reporters, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said President Aquino is expected to issue his marching orders on how to stop political and extrajudicial killings.
“We condemn all killings especially of journalists,” he said.
“Any murder especially of journalists is an infringement on press freedom.”
Lacierda said stopping extrajudicial killings is high on the priority list of Mr. Aquino, being one of his campaign promises.
Lacierda said it would be up to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to decide whether to continue with the Task Force Usig formed by the Arroyo administration to deal with extrajudicial killings.
“We will leave it to the secretary of justice,” he said.
He had already spoken to De Lima about the matter, Lacierda said.
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