Bombo Radyo listeners protest closure of Isabela station

CAUAYAN City, Isabela — Hundreds of avid listeners of Bombo Radyo dzNC marched to the city hall yesterday to protest the closure of the radio station reportedly ordered by Mayor Caesar Dy.

The protesters, however, were blocked by policemen, led by city police chief Superintendent Delfin Millo.

Dy, in his order dated Feb. 17, said that he ordered the clossure of Bombo Radyo dzNC’s operations because of its failure to secure the necessary mayor’s permit to operate and for its non-payment of business taxes as mandated by City Ordinance No. 92-004.

City Administrator Felicisimo Meer told The Star that the radio station was not issued the necessary permits because the lot in Barangay Minante Dos where it is located is agricultural land.

"This is a violation of a city ordinance mandating that commercial establishments should be constructed in a commercial area," said Meer.

But the protesters led by Delai Padilla, provincial chairperson of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Isabela), said the closure order was meant to silence Bombo Radyo from criticizing the political dynasty in Isabela.

"Over the years, it has become instrumental in exposing traditional politics characterizing the government bureaucratic control, particularly in the province of Isabela," said Padilla, noting that other multi-sectoral groups will be staging a series of indignation rallies to protest the unlawful closure of the station.

Charmy Sabigan, Bombo Radyo dzNC station manager, said lawyers of their network have been seeking legal remedies to lift the closure order as soon as possible assuring that "it (the closure) will only take a few days."

Bombo Radyo dzNC officially signed off at 12:03 p.m. on Tuesday.

Sabigan said that the one-hectare lot where the station has been erected was exempted from the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) pursuant to the decision of former Regional Director Abrino Aydinan of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Regional Office 2.

The city government, however, claimed that Aydinan’s decision in DAR Administrative Case No. A-00200A-07B-002 exempting the lot from the coverage of CARP was not authentic.

Meer assured though that the city government will issue the mayor’s permit "if Bombo Radyo management can submit to the city government the authentic copy of said decision."