EDITORIAL - Death on livestream

A broadcaster was shot dead on air and on livestream while he was hosting his program in Calamba town in Misamis Occidental yesterday morning.

Juan Tumpag Jumalon, more popularly known by his monicker “DJ Johnny Walker”, was shot by an unidentified man who entered his studio in the 94.7 FM Gold Radio station in Calamba, the station was also owned by Jumalon and was located in his house.

The attack was caught on livestream, with Jumalon making his usual greetings on air, then looking up to see a man enter his studio. The man then fires at Jumalon twice in the head before snatching his gold necklace.

Jumalon was rushed by his relatives to the hospital but he was declared dead on arrival.

We must warn you it isn’t an easy video to watch, even today when many people have become so desensitized to shock and violence because of the graphic content so readily available online care of the ongoing conflicts and wars in different parts of the world.

Jumalon is the fourth journalist to be killed under this administration and the 199th since 1986, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

While we cannot yet say if this attack was a result of his work as a journalist it is nevertheless something that should be looked into and with the culprit and mastermind quickly brought to justice. 

That the killer grabbed his necklace was telling of his intentions --or perhaps just a clever ploy to throw police off-track into thinking it was merely a robbery and nothing more.

The brazenness with which this attack was carried out also seems to imply that the killer had a certain confidence that he would get away with it. He didn’t seem to mind that it was all caught on video.

Another disturbing thing to consider is that right now there is an ongoing gun ban because of the recently-concluded barangay and Sangunniang Kabataan elections. Yet the killer somehow also felt assured he could go out in public with a gun.

For whatever reason he was killed we certainly hope that the killer isn’t getting protection from certain sectors that have power. That will not bode well not just for journalists but practically everyone.