Special task force to go after radioman’s killers

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna — A special task force has been formed to go after the assassins of Lucena City broadcaster Apolinario "Poly" Pobeda.

The 35-year-old Pobeda, a hard-hitting commentator of radio station dwTI-AM, was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding men while crossing the railroad tracks aboard his motorbike in Barangay Cotta, Lucena City at about 6 a.m. of May 17.

Task Force Pobeda is composed of elements of the provincial police, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the military and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

An NBI agent showed The STAR cartographic sketches of Pobeda’s killers, based on the description of two witnesses.

"We were able to come up with the description of the gunmen but we will have a hard time tracing the mastermind of this killing, considering the wide list (of suspects) we have," said the NBI agent, who requested anonymity.

The gunmen were described as aged 25 to 30, of medium-built and at least five feet, six inches tall.

In a statement yesterday, the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), organized to address numerous attacks against journalists and news organizations around the country, condemned Pobeda’s murder.

Pobeda’s killing, the FFFJ said, brought to 38 the number of journalists murdered since 1986. No one has been convicted for any of the slayings.

The FFFJ noted with alarm "the increasing frequency with which journalists in the Philippines are being killed."

Last April 28, John Villanueva Jr., 53, an announcer of radio station dzGB in Albay, was shot dead by still unidentified men in Camalig, Albay.

The following day, Davao City radioman Juan "Jun" Pala survived a second assassination attempt.

During its May 17 launch in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, the FFFJ launched a countdown on the number of days since the suspected killer of Mindanao journalist Edgardo Damalerio escaped from police custody.

Damalerio, 32, was shot dead on May 13 last year near the Pagadian City Hall and police station. His killing remains unsolved.