Davao City councilor-radioman ambushed

DAVAO CITY — City councilor and hard-hitting broadcaster Juan "Jun" Pala, popularly known as having led the anti-communist Alsa Masa movement here in the early eighties, narrowly escaped death when four still unidentified men ambushed him and two companions yesterday morning.

Pala, 47, sustained gunshot wounds in the arm and nape. Doctors at the San Pedro Hospital have declared him out of danger.

His driver, Lito Aguanza, was in critical condition, while his bodyguard, Romeo Rolana, was unscathed.

Police said the gunmen, armed with M-16s, 9 mms and Uzis, waylaid Pala’s group at about 9:10 a.m. along Circumferential Road and Medical School Drive, about five kilometers from radio station Radyo Ukay of the University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network (UMBN). The armed men were on board a Mitsubishi Lancer.

Police said Pala dropped by the radio station and had a brief chat with the staffers before the attack took place.

Senior Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia, city police chief, said probers were still investigating the ambush. "We are still looking into all details of the incident, and we vow to pursue the perpetrators," he said.

Pala was the second Radyo Ukay broadcaster who was attacked in two weeks. Earlier, Candelario Cayona, a hard-hitting commentator of dxLL Radyo Ukay in Zamboanga City, was shot dead.

"We strongly condemn the failed assassination attempt on Pala. He was our second broadcaster to be attacked in 15 days," said UMBN president Guillermo Torres Jr.

Torres said Pala was supposed to be back on air today after a short vacation from the electoral campaign. Pala ran for vice mayor but lost.

"Probably his enemies want to silence him. The attacks on Pala, Cayona and other mediamen definitely would also be an attack on press freedom," he added.

Torres said he has asked UMBN reporters and broadcasters to be extra careful given the hazards of the trade.

Councilor Pilar Braga, who was one of Pala’s opponents, expressed dismay over the incident.

"It is a sad day for us. It’s a microcosm of what’s happening in our society. It’s a bad sign," Braga said.

Davao City Press Club president Antonio Ajero also condemned the attack on Pala.

"We condemn it and, at the same time, we are also urging the police to expedite the investigation and bring the perpetrators to court. We demand justice for Pala," Ajero said.

Pala was elected councilor for the city’s second district in 1998. He became popular in the early eighties when his Alsa Masa group fought communist rebels who had made Davao City an experimental "killing field."