Crisis: National

Davao del Sur broadcaster slain
Armando “Rachman” Pace, 51, a broadcaster in Davao del Sur, was gunned down by unidenti-fied men on July 18 in Digos City.

Pace, a block timer for radio station dxDS, was waylaid by two men on a motorcycle along a local highway, two kilometers from the radio station.

According to reports reaching PJR Reports, Pace had just left the station after his daily one-hour block time program Ukadyang (12:30-1:30 pm) and was on his way to downtown Digos City when the men pulled up beside his motorcycle. One of the men shot Pace several times using a .45 cal. pistol.

Pace was taken to the nearest hospital but succumbed minutes later to fatal wounds sustained in the neck and chest.

The police immediately formed a task force to look into the latest case of a slain journalist, the fourth work-related casualty this year (seven overall, including the non-work-related cases).

Just two days after the killing took place, the police arrested three suspects in the murder.

One of those apprehended was Juan Jesus Sataum, a money lender, whose motorcycle was allegedly used by the killers of Pace, according to Task Force Newsmen chief Pedro Tango.

The second suspect, whose name was withheld by the police, reportedly went around bragging it was he who killed the radio commentator. The police, tipped off by the man’s neighbors, arrested him that same day.

The third suspect to be nabbed was identified as Joy Anticamara, alias “Tongol.” Anticamara was held at his house in Junsay Subdivision in Digos City on July 20 by operatives of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). He was identified by a 16-year-old witness who said she was about five to 10 meters away from the gunman when he shot the broadcaster.

Known as a hard-hitting commentator who regularly criticized politicians and busi-nessmen for alleged wrong-doing, Pace had reportedly toned down on his commentaries since joining dxDS eight months ago. His new program tackled mainly development issues.

Cagayan radio station burned down
A community radio station was burned down by unidentified men before dawn last July 2 in Baggao town, Cagayan province.

Radyo Cagayano, operated by the political group Bayan Muna, was razed after eight armed men wearing ski masks and carrying bottles of gasoline forced their way into the station.

According to Cagayan police chief James Andres Melad, the arsonists went to dwRC Radyo Cagayano at about 2 a.m. and set the station’s transmitter and broadcast booth on fire.

Melad said the attackers also took the cell phones of six staff members before tying and blindfolding them. The emplo-yees suffered minor bruises.

Radyo Cagayano, which was put up jointly by the local government and Bayan Muna, had been critical of the alleged corruption by military personnel based in Cagayan.

The military denied that it had a hand in the attack.

Vigos murder ‘solved’—PNP
Local police declared recently that they have solved the June 19 killing of two part-time journalists in Kidapawan City. The declaration was made following the filing of a criminal complaint before the city prosecutor’s office against three alleged communist party members on June 23.

Three days after the murder of George and Maricel Vigo—human rights advocates who worked as part-time journa-lists—regional police chief German Doria announced that the Sparrow Unit of the New People’s Army (NPA) was behind the Vigo killings. Doria identified one of the three suspects as Dionisio Madanggit, allegedly a member of the Sparrow Unit of NPA Front 51.

Deputy provincial police chief Jose Calimutan of Cotabato City, who headed Task Force Vigo, reiterated last July 18 that the police has done its part. “It’s now in the hands of the prosecution,” he said, as quoted by online news agency Mindanews.

The Vigo couple was riding on their motorcycle on their way home when they were shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen at a subdivision at around 5 p.m.

A day after the murder, the police formed Task Force Vigo, composed of the Police Regional Office, CIDG, and the National Bureau of Investigation.

Co-founders of the Federation of Reporters for Equality and Empowerment, the two worked part-time in media until their death. George hosted Tingog sa Kabatan-unan (Voice of the Youth), a 30-minute program aired every Monday noon, while Macel hosted Kalihukan sa Kongreso (Congress Affairs) over dxND every Sunday noon.

Doria said George was suspected by the NPA of having tipped off government forces on the whereabouts of Renante Edisa, 32, alias Commander Benjie, believed to be the head of the NPA’s Front 51, on Nov. 21, 2004.  Edisa was killed in a military raid a few days later.

The Vigo family, however, believes that the police have not sufficiently completed its investigation of the case.

“I know in my heart that the authorities have not talked to the real witnesses. There are still witnesses now hiding because of fear. These are the persons who might give them clues, but are not yet that strong to come up in the open,” Maribel, Maricel’s younger sister, said. – based on reports by MindaNews

Coyiuto sues Journal Group for P1B
Two executives of an insurance company recently filed a P1-billion libel case against officials and editors of the Journal Group for allegedly publishing malicious articles portraying them as “corrupt tax cheats.”

In an eight-page complaint filed with the Manila Prosecutor’s Office, Roberto Coyiuto Jr., chair of the Prudential Guarantee and Assurance Inc. (PGAI), and Celestino Ang, PGAI senior vice president, sought P1 billion in payment for damages.

The complainants said the articles had claimed that Coyiuto and his company failed to pay P800 million in taxes for 1995 and 1996. But the tax liability, which amounted to only P151.2 million, had already been settled with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in October 2000, Coyiuto and Ang said in their complaint.

Named respondents in the libel case were the board of directors of the Philippine Journalists Inc., namely, Augusto Villanueva, editor in chief; Paul Icamina, managing editor; Saturnino Sofranes, associate editor; Ma. Teresa Lardizabal, news editor; and Jun Pisco, city editor of People’s Journal Tonight.

The PGAI executives said they sued for libel after PJI officials refused to rectify the articles that came out in People’s Tonight entitled, “Tax raps vs Coyiuto dead?” (June 8) and “Why is BIR not after Coyiuto?” in People’s Journal (June 28).

In a phone interview with PJR Reports on July 25, Villanueva said they have not received any libel notice on Coyiuto’s complaint.

According to Villanueva, the editors were asked by Coyiuto’s lawyers to make a public apology to resolve the said inaccurate reports.

“In the interest of the tax-paying public, we published Coyiuto’s reaction letter to the said articles,” Villanueva said. “We even asked Coyiuto to publicly explain how he managed to pay his tax liabilities amounting to P800 million.”

When asked about the authenticity of the figures that were mentioned in the articles, Villanueva said they had not received the official account from the BIR.

“We decided to publish the articles anyway,” Villanueva added, noting that their facts came from a very reliable source inside the BIR. – with reports based on Manila Standard Today and BusinessWorld

Hagedorn files libel raps vs. two tabloids
Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn recently filed libel complaints against two editors, a columnist, and the circulation managers of two tabloids.

Charged before the Puerto Princesa City Prosecution Office were Joey Galicia Venancio, columnist; Erny Baluyot, editor; and Edwin Alcala, of the tabloid Police Files Tonite; and Joe Dalde, editor in chief and Lenie Venancio, circulation manager of the tabloid Hataw.

In his complaint filed last July 7, Hagedorn alleged that the tabloids published columns and articles imputed to him certain criminal acts, like the murder of radio broadcaster and former city vice mayor Fernando “Dong” Batul last May 22.

The PJR Reports tried to get the reactions of Hataw and Police Files Tonite editorial heads, but they could not be reached as of press time.
Armando “Rachman” Pace, 51, a broadcaster in Davao del Sur, was gunned down by unidenti-fied men on July 18 in Digos City.

Pace, a block timer for radio station dxDS, was waylaid by two men on a motorcycle along a local highway, two kilometers from the radio station.

According to reports reaching PJR Reports, Pace had just left the station after his daily one-hour block time program Ukadyang (12:30-1:30 pm) and was on his way to downtown Digos City when the men pulled up beside his motorcycle. One of the men shot Pace several times using a .45 cal. pistol.

Pace was taken to the nearest hospital but succumbed minutes later to fatal wounds sustained in the neck and chest.

The police immediately formed a task force to look into the latest case of a slain journalist, the fourth work-related casualty this year (seven overall, including the non-work-related cases).

Just two days after the killing took place, the police arrested three suspects in the murder.

One of those apprehended was Juan Jesus Sataum, a money lender, whose motorcycle was allegedly used by the killers of Pace, according to Task Force Newsmen chief Pedro Tango.

The second suspect, whose name was withheld by the police, reportedly went around bragging it was he who killed the radio commentator. The police, tipped off by the man’s neighbors, arrested him that same day.

The third suspect to be nabbed was identified as Joy Anticamara, alias “Tongol.” Anticamara was held at his house in Junsay Subdivision in Digos City on July 20 by operatives of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). He was identified by a 16-year-old witness who said she was about five to 10 meters away from the gunman when he shot the broadcaster.

Known as a hard-hitting commentator who regularly criticized politicians and busi-nessmen for alleged wrong-doing, Pace had reportedly toned down on his commentaries since joining dxDS eight months ago. His new program tackled mainly development issues.

Cagayan radio station burned down
A community radio station was burned down by unidentified men before dawn last July 2 in Baggao town, Cagayan province.

Radyo Cagayano, operated by the political group Bayan Muna, was razed after eight armed men wearing ski masks and carrying bottles of gasoline forced their way into the station.

According to Cagayan police chief James Andres Melad, the arsonists went to dwRC Radyo Cagayano at about 2 a.m. and set the station’s transmitter and broadcast booth on fire.

Melad said the attackers also took the cell phones of six staff members before tying and blindfolding them. The emplo-yees suffered minor bruises.

Radyo Cagayano, which was put up jointly by the local government and Bayan Muna, had been critical of the alleged corruption by military personnel based in Cagayan.

The military denied that it had a hand in the attack.

Vigos murder ‘solved’—PNP
Local police declared recently that they have solved the June 19 killing of two part-time journalists in Kidapawan City. The declaration was made following the filing of a criminal complaint before the city prosecutor’s office against three alleged communist party members on June 23.

Three days after the murder of George and Maricel Vigo—human rights advocates who worked as part-time journa-lists—regional police chief German Doria announced that the Sparrow Unit of the New People’s Army (NPA) was behind the Vigo killings. Doria identified one of the three suspects as Dionisio Madanggit, allegedly a member of the Sparrow Unit of NPA Front 51.

Deputy provincial police chief Jose Calimutan of Cotabato City, who headed Task Force Vigo, reiterated last July 18 that the police has done its part. “It’s now in the hands of the prosecution,” he said, as quoted by online news agency Mindanews.

The Vigo couple was riding on their motorcycle on their way home when they were shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen at a subdivision at around 5 p.m.

A day after the murder, the police formed Task Force Vigo, composed of the Police Regional Office, CIDG, and the National Bureau of Investigation.

Co-founders of the Federation of Reporters for Equality and Empowerment, the two worked part-time in media until their death. George hosted Tingog sa Kabatan-unan (Voice of the Youth), a 30-minute program aired every Monday noon, while Macel hosted Kalihukan sa Kongreso (Congress Affairs) over dxND every Sunday noon.

Doria said George was suspected by the NPA of having tipped off government forces on the whereabouts of Renante Edisa, 32, alias Commander Benjie, believed to be the head of the NPA’s Front 51, on Nov. 21, 2004.  Edisa was killed in a military raid a few days later.

The Vigo family, however, believes that the police have not sufficiently completed its investigation of the case.

“I know in my heart that the authorities have not talked to the real witnesses. There are still witnesses now hiding because of fear. These are the persons who might give them clues, but are not yet that strong to come up in the open,” Maribel, Maricel’s younger sister, said. – based on reports by MindaNews

Coyiuto sues Journal Group for P1B
Two executives of an insurance company recently filed a P1-billion libel case against officials and editors of the Journal Group for allegedly publishing malicious articles portraying them as “corrupt tax cheats.”

In an eight-page complaint filed with the Manila Prosecutor’s Office, Roberto Coyiuto Jr., chair of the Prudential Guarantee and Assurance Inc. (PGAI), and Celestino Ang, PGAI senior vice president, sought P1 billion in payment for damages.

The complainants said the articles had claimed that Coyiuto and his company failed to pay P800 million in taxes for 1995 and 1996. But the tax liability, which amounted to only P151.2 million, had already been settled with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in October 2000, Coyiuto and Ang said in their complaint.

Named respondents in the libel case were the board of directors of the Philippine Journalists Inc., namely, Augusto Villanueva, editor in chief; Paul Icamina, managing editor; Saturnino Sofranes, associate editor; Ma. Teresa Lardizabal, news editor; and Jun Pisco, city editor of People’s Journal Tonight.

The PGAI executives said they sued for libel after PJI officials refused to rectify the articles that came out in People’s Tonight entitled, “Tax raps vs Coyiuto dead?” (June 8) and “Why is BIR not after Coyiuto?” in People’s Journal (June 28).

In a phone interview with PJR Reports on July 25, Villanueva said they have not received any libel notice on Coyiuto’s complaint.

According to Villanueva, the editors were asked by Coyiuto’s lawyers to make a public apology to resolve the said inaccurate reports.

“In the interest of the tax-paying public, we published Coyiuto’s reaction letter to the said articles,” Villanueva said. “We even asked Coyiuto to publicly explain how he managed to pay his tax liabilities amounting to P800 million.”

When asked about the authenticity of the figures that were mentioned in the articles, Villanueva said they had not received the official account from the BIR.

“We decided to publish the articles anyway,” Villanueva added, noting that their facts came from a very reliable source inside the BIR. – with reports based on Manila Standard Today and BusinessWorld

Hagedorn files libel raps vs. two tabloids
Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn recently filed libel complaints against two editors, a columnist, and the circulation managers of two tabloids.

Charged before the Puerto Princesa City Prosecution Office were Joey Galicia Venancio, columnist; Erny Baluyot, editor; and Edwin Alcala, of the tabloid Police Files Tonite; and Joe Dalde, editor in chief and Lenie Venancio, circulation manager of the tabloid Hataw.

In his complaint filed last July 7, Hagedorn alleged that the tabloids published columns and articles imputed to him certain criminal acts, like the murder of radio broadcaster and former city vice mayor Fernando “Dong” Batul last May 22.

The PJR Reports tried to get the reactions of Hataw and Police Files Tonite editorial heads, but they could not be reached as of press time.

Comments are closed.