Church-owned radio station burned down

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – Unidentified men set fire to a Catholic Church-owned radio station in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro last 26 October 2011. Occidental Mindoro is approximately 156 kilometers from Manila.

According to the radio station’s Helen de Guzman,  the caretaker of the Church-owned Catholic Media Network dzVT noticed the fire around 1 a.m. (local time). The radio’s transmitters, computers, cables and other equipment were lost in the fire, de Guzman added.

A report by another Church-owned station,  Radyo Veritas (Truth Radio),  quoted dzVT program manager Daisy Leano as saying that “tinatayang humigit-kumulang sampung milyong piso ang halaga ng mga nasunog sa himpilan gaya ng transmitter at generator (The damage to station’s property, including the transmitter and generator, cost more or less 1o million pesos [approximately USD231,370]).” The radio station’s caretaker was hurt  while trying to put off the fire, de Guzman said.

News reports quoted MIMAROPA (Mindoro Occidental and Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan – Region 4B) regional police head Chief Supt. Artemio Hicban as saying that a gas canister was found around the radio station’s premises. “May nakuha ang arson investigator na lata ng gas na maaaring suspected ginamit sa pagsunog (An arson investigator found a container of gas, which we suspect was used in setting the fire),” GMANews Online quoted Hicban’s interview with dwIZ.

Meanwhile, Hicban was also quoted in the GMANews report as saying that unidentified men also tried to burn down a seminary in San Jose a few days before.

Police has yet to identify the suspects and motives behind the attack. However, Radyo Veritas reported that the police had pointed to the New People’s Army as the group behind the attack on the Church-owned radio.

But De Guzman said the radio station never claimed that the NPA was  behind the attacks. Leano in the Radyo Veritas report,  also denied saying this. “Ayaw po naming magbigay ng ispekulasyon sa ngayon kung sino at ano ang motibo sa panununog sa aming istasyon hangga’t walang matibay na ebidensiya o basehan (We refuse to give out speculations on who and what is the motive behind the burning of our radio station since we still have no evidence),” Leano told Radyo Veritas.

Alex del Valle, a radio anchor-reporter in San Jose, told the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility that the possible motive behind the attack on the Church-owned radio is its  commentaries against a local politician. “Isa kasi sila sa bumabanat sa isang pulitiko dito (They are one of those who criticized a local politician here),” Del Valle said.

This was the second attack on dzVT this month. De Guzman told CMFR that unidentified persons also tried to burn down the station last 20 October 2011. The station’s generator set and a room where important documents were kept were damaged in the first attack. De Guzman also told CMFR that radio staff had noticed unidentified men casing the radio station since September.