INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday ordered the PNP to immediately solve the killing of a veteran journalist who was shot dead in Calbayog City in Samar last Wednesday night.
“The PNP should solve the case. A case is considered closed if we identify the perpetrators and appropriate charges are filed against them,” Año said in a phone interview.
Fifty eight-year-old Jesus “Jess” Malabanan, a correspondent of the Manila Standard, was shot dead while watching television inside their store in Barangay San Joaquin, Tinambacan District.
Initial police reports said Malabanan was shot in the head by motorcycle “riding-in-tandem” gunmen at around 6:30 p.m. He was rushed to the St. Camillus Hospital in Calbayog City but was declared dead on arrival.
Malabanan has been covering Central Luzon as a correspondent of the Manila Standard. He is a member of the Pampanga Press Corps (PPC).
He is also a stringer for other news organizations, including Reuters.
Año said the PNP “will not stop investigating and finding the culprits (and) determining the motive.”
“I already talked with the chief PNP (Gen. Dionardo Carlos) about this,” said Año, referring to the need to solve the killing of Malabanan.
“First we are condemning it. Secondly, we will make sure that the case will be solved,” said Año.
Carlos said the PNP is doing its best to identify and arrest the suspects in the murder of Malabanan.
Carlos said he has directed Eastern Visayas regional police director Brig. Gen. Rommel Bernardo Cabagnot to form a special investigation task group (SITG) “to expedite the resolution of this case.”
Carlos said the SITG, composed of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and other police units, is looking for closed-circuit television that may help in the investigation.
“We understand the call of the family and different groups to expedite the investigation of the case. These requests will not fall on deaf ears. Establishing the motive of the case can help us in going to the bottom of this. We just need the cooperation of the witnesses,” said Carlos.
Carlos said the SITG will be coordinating with the family of Malabanan amid initial reports that the victim had received job-related death threats. He said probers will also check if they are other angles worth looking into.
Cabagnot condemned the killing of Malabanan and urged anyone who have information that will help in the solution of the case to come forward so justice can be achieved.
In a statement, the PPC condemned the killing of Malabanan.
“Jess to many among us, a long-time reporter and stringer for many media outfits for many years, had proven himself to be a man dedicated to his duties as a journalist,” the PPC said.
It asked the PNP and other authorities to “to help in the prompt investigation that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of this cowardly act in the interest of justice.”
Presidential Task Force on Media Security executive director Joel Egco said: “Jess is a personal friend of mine. This cowardly killing in the midst of a pandemic is truly unforgivable. We will get to the bottom of this and will stop at nothing in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this despicable crime.”
Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles condemned the killing of Malabanan and vowed that the PTFoMS will get into the bottom of the incident.
“We condole with the family, loved ones, and colleagues of Mr. Malabanan and assure them that the government will exert all efforts to ensure that those responsible are caught, charged, and convicted for this crime,” Nograles said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that if Malabanan’s killing was work-related, the Department of Justice, through the National Bureau of Investigation, may also conduct a parallel probe.
Aside from the NBI, the DOJ-led AO35 task force may also be tapped to conduct a parallel investigation, Guevarra said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Ashzel Hachero
