THE list of slain Filipino newsmen has become longer with the killing of radioman Juan Jumalon, 57, popularly known as DJ Johnny Walker, in Calamba town, Misamis Occidental, last Sunday, Nov. 5.
It is no longer surprising that local media men and women are being killed, especially in the far-flung towns and provinces where the long arm of the law is hardly felt. Political and business leaders who have been exploiting the natural resources of these localities, often without regard for legal processes, are the usual targets of scathing criticisms from courageous radio or print media professionals. This situation often leads to confrontation and violence between the two parties.
What is appalling in Jumalon’s case is the way he was slain. The radio announcer was on board on his popular Sunday program “Pa-hapyod sa Kabuntagon” when a lone gunman barged into the radio station right in the victim’s own home and killed him at 5:30 a.m. Jumalon was radio station owner and manager of Gold FM 94.7. He died from two bullet wounds inflicted by the lone gunman who made good his escape under cover of darkness.
This latest media killing brings to the fore the other murders of journalists that occurred in the last few months, outside of the ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s term and well within the administration of President Bongbong Marcos.
‘Aside from expressing his sympathies to the Jumalon family, President Marcos should better use all the power at his disposal for the immediate solution of this latest media killing.’
We refer to the cases of Cris Bundoquin, 50, a broadcast journalist in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, and Percy Lapid, another hard-hitting columnist-radio commentator who was ambushed in his car while on his way home in Las Piñas. Bundoquin was killed on May 31, 2023 while Lapid expired on Oct. 3, 2022.
Jumalon’s murder is the fourth involving a journalist under the 16-month Marcos Jr. administration, following the deaths of radio commentators Lapid, Federico “Ding” Gempesaw, and Renato “Rey” Blanco.
The International Press Institute reported on the killings of Blanco and Gempesaw. The IPI said Gempesaw was shot dead in broad daylight in Cagayan de Oro City just days after the inauguration of President Bongbong Marcos on June 30, 2022.
Blanco was fatally stabbed on Sept. 18, 2022 in Mabinay town, Negros island. The police theorized that this case was politically motivated as Blanco was reportedly planning to run for barangay chairman when he was killed.
The common thread that binds these killings is that the victims were radio announcers who have criticized certain government officials, their lifestyles and management styles, hinting at, and/or denouncing graft and corruption in their offices.
These victims may have other activities and business interests, aside from being media workers, that contribute to the cause or causes of their demise, and it is up to authorities to investigate the cases along these lines.
The Office of the President maintains an agency, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) headed by newsman Paul Gutierrez, that follows up these cases and works hard to help the victims’ relatives in their quest for justice. In the newest case of Jumalon, this agency has urged the creation of a special investigation task group (SITG) within the Philippine National Police to hasten the probe and punish the perpetrators.
Gutierrez said “the creation of an SITG on incidents like this is among the agreed protocols among the agencies within the PTFoMS.”
Aside from expressing his sympathies to the Jumalon family, President Marcos should better use all the power at his disposal for the immediate solution of this latest media killing.
These killings are giving the country a bad image that will ultimately negate all the investment missions he and his economic team are doing abroad.
