Murder charge filed against suspect in radioman’s shooting

By Liezle Basa Inigo and Eva Visperas

DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan — A frustrated murder charge has been filed against Rolando Lim Jr., arrested Wednesday for allegedly shooting and wounding DWIZ station manager, Orly Navarro, 55 in Barangay Pantal, here.

Navarro has since undergone surgery to dislodge the bullet in his back at the Pangasinan Medical Center, here, and will reportedly be transferred to a hospital in Manila for security reasons.

Supt. Christopher Abrahano, city police chief, said Lim Jr., 45, a neighbor of Navarro and allegedly identified by witnesses as the man behind the attack, underwent inquest proceedings Wednesday.

Dagupan police nabbed Lim  with help of two witnesses, hours after the shooting of Navarro.

Lim underwent paraffin test at the Philippine National Police-Crime Laboratory in Lingayen town to determine presence of gun powder nitrate.

Police said Lim was involved in illegal drug operations in Barangay Pantal and nearby villages.

Last August 27, police filed a frustrated murder case before the prosecutor's office in Bonuan Tondaligan in Dagupan City against the suspect, with a recommended bail bond of P200,000.

Navarro was talking with a tricycle driver when a gunman shot him at around 1 a.m. last Tuesday.

But the National Bureau of Investigation has been urged to conduct its own investigation into the Navarro shooting after a local government official and a city police official have allegedly been implicated in the case.

This, as the management of radio station dwIZ, and Ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua Wednesday offered a P.5 million cash reward for the arrest of whoever was responsible in the shooting  even as three suspects were hauled in by police for questioning.

 “Dapat na tiyakin nila na siya (Lim) talaga ang suspect kasi mahirap naman na madamay ang tao na walang kinalaman (They have to ascertain that he (Lim) was the real suspect so as not to involve a person who does not have anything to do with it),” Navarro said.

“Maliit lang naman ang bumaon sa likod ko at tinamaan ang part ng aking buto kaya medyo masakit (Only a small part was embedded in my back but it hit the bone part so it’s painful),” he said.

Despite the arrest, Juan Dayang, senior consultant of Chua, the chairman emiritus of the ALC Group of Companies that owns radio station dwIZ, announced the offer after management szaid it wants the real perpetrator to be sent to jail.

Dayang said that the dwIZ management will be pushing for a deeper investigation of the case, saying “it shouldn’t end with the arrest of the suspect.”

A radio report said Navarro was shot and wounded after midnight Tuesday in an ambush while the hard-hitting radio commentator was on his way home.

Abrahano, said three suspects have earlier been picked up for questioning for the attack on Navarro at the corner of Kalye 29 Street and Nable Street in Pantal West, here.

“Mabilis siyang naisugod sa pagamutan dahil nakatawag agad siya sa amin at agad din niyang naireport sa PNP na mabilis din silang nagresonde sa nasabing lugar (He was immediately taken to the hospital after calling us up and reporting it to the police, who responded to the area),” Susan Yadao, DWIZ anchorwoman said.

Abrahano said the attack could be work-related, but refused to identify the three male suspects, pending their investigation.

Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP)-Pangasinan Chapter President Jay Mendoza condemned the shooting and vowed to monitor the investigation.

Prior to the shooting, Navarro had been criticizing rampant drug trafficking operations in some barangays in the city.

Meanwhile, other sources said Navarro was taken by a tricycle driver to the Pangasinan Medical Center for treatment of a bullet wound in the back.

Other reports said Navarro was on his way home from a meeting with his friends at the Star Plaza Hotel when the attack occurred at around 1 a.m.

He was reportedly crossing Kalye 29 along Nable street when he was shot.

Police said the gunman, who might have been waiting for Navarro, fled after the incident.

No bullet shells were recovered from the crime scene.

Navarro is a former president of the Pangasinan Press and Radio Club.

Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. urged authorities to conduct a deeper probe of the incident.

“This is another black eye for us,” Espino told journalists after learning about the incident.

Aside from the local police, Espino asked the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to look into the case. 

Navarro’s daughter Matet said as of Tuesday her father could still speak as he was waiting for doctors to remove the bullet from his back.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Pangasinan chapter, led by Yolanda Sotelo, condemned the attack on Navarro.

It said Navarro has been campaigning against illegal drug activities in his village and in the city.

The NUJP urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the case and protect media practitioners.

Jay Mendoza, station manager of dzRD Sunshine Radio Dagupan and president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas-Pangasinan chapter, condemned the attack and described it as treacherous and barbaric.