Laguna broadcaster killed in ambush

Three motorcycle-riding men ambushed and killed a newscaster of a cable television station and publisher of a community newspaper in San Pablo City, Laguna yesterday.

The attack on Sonny Alcantara, 51, who worked for Celestron Cable TV based in San Pablo and was publisher of Kokus, came barely three days after the ambush-slaying of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) district examiner Graciano Balubal, also in the same city.

Alcantara, according to reports reaching Camp Crame, was coming out of his residence on Quirino street aboard his car when he was shot in the face. He died while being rushed to the hospital.

Investigators are determining whether the ambush-killings of Alcantara and Balubal are related.

Motorcycle-riding men also waylaid Balubal, a resident of Parconville Subdivision, while he was on his way to his office aboard his Toyota car at about 7:30 a.m. last Tuesday.

Police found inside Balubal’s car a letter warning the management of a metal manufacturing company in Carmona, Cavite about their failure to settle tax arrearages. — Jaime Laude, Rene Alviar