COTABATO CITY – Unidentified gunmen shot dead last Wednesday night a local radio commentator of a program perceived to be siding with Muslim rebels.
Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane, city police director, however, said investigators are convinced the brutal murder of 38-year-old Badruddin Abas has nothing to do with his job as commentator of a radio program of the so-called Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Societies, which is aired every night over station dxCM here.
“What we have learned is that it was his brother whose life is under threat. This could be a case of mistaken identity. He resembled his brother, who is at odds with another family,” Dangane said.
Badruddin was driving his passenger van when two men, disguised as passengers, boarded his vehicle and shot him from behind after the suspects asked him to pull over.
The suspects fled towards a nearby market.
Dangane clarified that Badruddin, as a block time radio commentator, is not a member of Cotabato City’s mainstream media community.
The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas condemned the killing of Abas.
Herman Basbaño, KBP president, said the slaying of Abas has dealt another blow to press freedom in the country.
Basbaño said that Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, head of Task Force 211, assured him of a speedy investigation of the case.