Tabloid columnist, companion shot dead in Pampanga

CMFR/ PHILIPPINES – A tabloid columnist was shot dead in Arayat town, Pampanga on 20 October 2019.

Arayat is 67 kilometers north of Manila.

According to the police report, Jupiter Gonzales, a columnist for the Manila-based tabloid Remate and a member of the National Press Club, was driving his vehicle along the highway of Brgy. Cacutud in this town when an unidentified suspect fired at him and his companion, Christopher Tiongson at 10:30 p.m. Tiongson died on the spot while Gonzales was declared dead upon arrival in hospital. No motive for the shooting has been established so far.

But Gonzales had been critical of a certain alias Boy Quiroz, whom he accused of being the operator of illegal gambling in local carnivals across the Central Luzon region. He accused Quiroz of working with the local police. Since September 2019, Gonzales had written about this issue three times in his column “Lord Peter Spider.”

Tiongson was not identified as a media practitioner in news reports. CMFR is still waiting for the response of one of Tiongson’s children to determine his relationship with Gonzales.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) announced on October 22 that it has identified a person of interest in the case.

Joel Egco, executive director of the task force, said contrary to the initial police report, CCTV footage showed the suspect entering Gonzales’ vehicle and getting out after a few minutes, in an attempt to commandeer the vehicle. Gonzales was able to drive away for about 50 meters, while the suspect and another man escaped by motorcycle.

If proven work-related, Gonzales will be the 166^th journalist killed in the line of duty since 1986, and the 14^th under the Duterte administration.