Radio station manager injured in shooting attack

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A radio station manager was shot and critically wounded by unidentified assailants in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat on Wednesday, 30 October 2019.

Tacurong City is 971.84 kilometers south of Manila.

Benjie Abdul Caballero, station manager of Radyo ni Juan, was shot while he was in front of his house in this city at around 1:15 p.m. Police Regional Office (PRO) 12 reported that two unidentified suspects on a motorcycle approached Caballero, who was waiting for a tricycle, then shot him in the chest.

Patrolman Jose Dullano of PRO 12 confirmed the incident to CMFR. Police Master Sergeant Fred Tumala of Tacurong City Police Station told CMFR on October 31 that Caballero is still in the Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital.

Joel Egco, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, said he has asked the police to secure the hospital.

Radyo ni Juan is a network of community radio stations of the RMC Broadcasting Corporation.

Caballero, reports said, is also president of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Task Force on Media Security.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said Caballero had reported receiving threats last year.

Authorities have yet to establish the motive behind the attack.