Alleged gunman in 2004 journalist’s murder killed

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A police officer shot dead the alleged gunman in the 2004 killing of a Batangas-based journalist last 19 October 2009, a day before his arraignment. The police said the shooting was accidental. Batangas is a province approximately 90 kilometers from Manila.

Three policemen were bringing Michael Garcia, the suspected gunman in the killing of broadcaster Arnnel Manalo,  to the Batangas provincial jail from the prosecutor’s office when the shooting happened. According to a 22 October 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer report, Police Officer 2 Jose Rommel Ajena accidentally shot Garcia in the head when he allegedly tried to grab the firearm of the driver of the patrol car.

Bauan police chief Superintendent Ceo Abrenica told the newspaper Pilipino Star Ngayon in a 20 October 2009 report that “(i)t’s very unfortunate that this incident happened, buti na lang at alerto ang mga tauhan ko, kung hindi baka may napatay din sa mga tao ko (thankfully my men were alert; otherwise they could also have been killed).”

The Inquirer said Garcia was apprehended by the Masbate police last 14 October and was turned over to the Bauan municipal jail last 19 October.

On 5 August 2004, a gunman riding tandem on a motorcycle shot Manalo, a correspondent for dzRH and the Manila-based tabloid Bulgar. Manalo and his brother Apollo were on their way home and traveling along a national highway in Manghinaw Village, Bauan, Batangas City, when he was killed.

Abrenica told Pilipino Star Ngayon that the Bauan police would still conduct further investigation to dispel any foul play.

Since Garcia had not been arraigned, lawyer Prima Jesusa Quinsayas, legal counsel of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), said the criminal case against Garcia cannot proceed. She said concerned parties could request the police to re-investigate the case and look for others possibly involved in the killing of Manalo.

FFFJ, a coalition of six media organizations, was formed to address the continuing killings of and attacks against journalists in the Philippines. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility is a founding member and serves as the secretariat of FFFJ.

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