Slain South Cotabato radioman just a ‘blocktimer’

KORONADAL CITY — Media practitioners in the Socsksargen (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) area clarified yesterday that the supposed broadcaster slain in an ambush last Sunday night was just a "blocktimer."

"We don’t know him," Jeffrey Jubelag, president of the Philippine National Police-Region 12 press corps, said of the victim, Rolando Morales.

Jubelag said they were surprised to learn that the national dailies identified Morales as a radio broadcaster when he was just a "blocktimer" — who bought airtime for a program — of dxMD, a General Santos radio station owned by the Radio Mindanao Network.

Jubelag, city editor of the Mindanao Bulletin weekly, said Morales was an "inspector" of a pineapple firm in Polomolok, South Cotabato.

He said they were unsure if the Barangay Anti-Crime Task Force, of which Morales was the spokesman, was the one which paid for the airtime of the one-hour Tingog sa Barangay program which he co-hosted. — Ramil Bajo, Cecille Suerte Felipe and Cesar Ramirez