Pangasinan mayor rapped for ‘threats’ vs media man

DAGUPAN CITY — Media practitioners here denounced yesterday San Carlos City Mayor Julian Resuello for allegedly threatening to harm and kill a radio station manager Friday night at an informal gathering in nearby Calasiao town.

In a press statement, the Katipunan ng mga Mamamahayag sa Pangasinan (Kampana) said the actuations of Resuello who threatened to harm and kill Orly Navarro, station manager and commentator of dzSD Super Radyo in Dagupan City, was an affront not only to Navarro but also to the Pangasinan media institution as a whole.

"Mayor Resuello’s behavior was uncalled for and it was undoubtedly an abuse of his authority. It was a desperate attempt to silence the Pangasinan media from exposing and opposing graft and corruption and other irregularities in the government," Kampana said.

Navarro, a former president of the Pangasinan Press and Radio Club, said he was having dinner with two other Pangasinan media persons and mayors from other Pangasinan towns, when Resuello arrived and began shouting invectives at him.

"He was like a raging bull. Many times, he gestured to pull his gun from his waist, and many times, he also motioned to slap me," Navarro said. Sto.Tomas Mayor Antonio Villar, Jr. and Sta. Barbara Mayor Lito Zaplan pacified Resuello, Navarro added.

Navarro said Resuello’s anger stemmed from his commentary in his radio program that the illegal numbers game, jueteng, is still rampant in San Carlos City. "I was then reading a result of a survey conducted by the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese on jueteng," he said.

Meanwhile, Resuello said that what happened was an emotional outbursts.

Resuello added that he is just human, capable of committing mistakes. He added that he is willing to apologize to Navarro for what happened. — Cesar Ramirez and Eva de Leon