Wounded Dipolog broadcaster dies

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A crusading radio broadcaster succumbed to gunshot wounds after being shot by unidentified assailants last Tuesday, police said yesterday.

Klein Cantoneros of DXAA radio in Dipolog City became the fourth journalist to be killed this year. He died before 11 p.m. Wednesday at the Dipolog Hospital hours after being attacked, said regional police director Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol.

Cantoneros, 32, was shot six times in an ambush in Barangay Sta. Philomena in Dipolog a little past midnight last Tuesday.

Authorities admit they are stumped in the investigation.

"We have no suspects yet," Querol said, adding that solving this murder case will be an "uphill climb" for them.

The official said investigators are reviewing the tapes of radio programs hosted by the victim to determine if his radio commentary could have provided a motive for his murder.

"We have to know who were the subjects of Cantoneros’ program as we were informed the victim was a hard-hitting commentator," Querol said.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), meanwhile, is stepping up the investigation following a report from a New York-based watchdog that tagged the Philippines as the world’s "most murderous" country for journalists.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez ordered NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco yesterday to closely coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and immediately submit a status report on the killing of Cantoneros.

Wycoco said he has ordered his Dipolog field agents to coordinate with the local police for the speedy solution of the case.

Senior Superintendent Pedro Tango, chief of Task Force Newsmen, said investigators were still trying to convince witnesses to come out and help identify the killers.

Despite this obstacle, PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao assured Cantoneros’ family that no stone would be left unturned in arresting his assailants.

Lomibao has ordered Querol and Tango to conduct a massive manhunt against the suspects.

Cantoneros’ death followed a statement made by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) which called the Philippines the most dangerous country for reporters.

Cantoneros is the second journalist to be killed in Dipolog since 1986, when democracy was restored in the country.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said 66 journalists have been murdered since 1986 – 23 of them in the past three years alone.

Last year, 13 journalists were killed. Six of them were killed by suspected hired killers, while seven others were slain in cases with unclear motives, the Paris-based industry watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in an annual report issued on Tuesday.

Local politicians were the suspects in many of the cases, it said. Cantoneros had frequently criticized local officials for alleged corruption and mismanagement in his early morning radio program. The broadcaster had received death threats, some through cell phone text messages, which he sometimes read on the air, according to colleagues.

Police said when they rushed to the scene, they found the critically wounded Cantoneros clutching his own caliber .45 pistol.

He apparently was able to fire back at the three assailants, based on bullet shells found near his body, police investigators said.

Malacañang earlier rejected the CPJ’s claim that the Philippines had become more dangerous than Iraq for journalists. But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita later admitted the Palace is "concerned" over escalating violence against media practitioners here.

Ermita acknowledged that 58 journalists were killed here between 1986 and May 1this year, with only 31 cases making it to court and 27 still under investigation.

In Congress, a lawmaker said the mounting attacks on journalists reflect "a grave and growing" problem in law enforcement in the country.

"The atrocities against journalists have become a serious law enforcement problem," said Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago. "The perception that assailants are literally getting away with murder has merely served to abet more killings."

The National Press Club denounced Cantoneros’ murder and blamed the government for failing to give protection to journalists.

"Worse, the killing comes as the country celebrates National Press Week and the CPJ has tagged the country as a killing field for journalists," NPC president Tony Antonio said in a statement.

The anti-crime watchdog, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), also joined in condemning the atrocities committed to reporters.

VACC chairman Dante Jimenez said they are outraged and frustrated over the "seeming helplessness" of government agencies in stopping such crimes. — With Jose Rodel Clapano, AFP, AP, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan