A hard-hitting TV host and tabloid columnist in Laguna (30 kilometers south of Metro Manila) was reportedly mauled by a city councilor on 16 May.
Local journalist Iring Maranan was allegedly assaulted physically by San Pablo City Councilor Edgardo Adajar, while he was covering the regular session of the city council. Maranan said that the incident was caught on video and witnessed by about a 100 people, including other San Pablo-based journalists.
Maranan reported the incident to the police. He said he already had a medical checkup and is still mulling if he would file a slight physical injury against Adajar.
The journalist is a known critic of alleged corrupt local public officials. He usually reports about suspected anomalies in the city government. Last year, he filed administrative and criminal charges before the Ombudsman against Adajar and 13 others, including Mayor Vicente Amante, Vice Mayor Lauro Vidal and seven other city councilors. The case was about an irregular land deal which cost the local government millions of pesos.
Maranan is a member of the Laguna chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. He hosts the program “Sapul, Walang Sablay” on channel 17 of the local cable network in San Pablo and is also a columnist of the weekly tabloid “Ratsada Balita.”
On the same day as the attack on Maranan, photojournalist Albert Orsolino was shot dead in Manila. Orsolino’s murder could be the second work-related killing this year. ###