Reward offered for info on Tagum radioman's killers

A P100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspects in Wednesday's killing of a radio broadcaster in Tagum City in Davao del Norte in Mindanao.

 

Tagum Mayor Allan Rellon offered the reward to hasten the arrest of the killers of Rogelio Butalid, radio dzBB's Davao affiliate Margaret Zapanta reported Thursday.

 

Rellon's offer was aside from the formation of a task force looking into Butalid's murder.

 

As this developed, an international media watchdog group warned the recent attacks on radio broadcasters may make President Benigno Aquino III's administration the second deadliest for journalists in the Philippines.

 

Reporters Without Borders/Reporters Sans Frontieres said it was "deeply shocked" to learn that two radio show hosts, Butalid of Radyo Natin and Michael Diaz Milo of DXFM Radio, were killed in a span of six days.

 

RSF urged police to "deploy whatever means are necessary to arrest those responsible and end the unacceptable impunity."

 

"Only a firm response from the authorities will deter others from targeting news providers," it said.

 

But it added President Aquino’s presidency "is in the process of becoming the second deadliest ever for the Philippines’ journalists."

 

"Aside from his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, no other president in the past 30 years has allowed the current level of impunity, not even his mother, Corazon Aquino. By failing to react, his government is directly responsible for this sad record,” it said.

 

Motorcycle-riding men gunned down Butalid outside Radyo Natin in Tagum City, while Butalid was leaving the station to go home after his program.

 

Milo, 34, was gunned down December 6 in Tandag City, where he hosted a program about alternative medicine and local issues on DXFM Radio.

 

"Butalid was the third journalist to be killed in the Philippines in less than two weeks, the first being radio journalist Joash Dignos, who was gunned down on 29 November in Valencia City, also on the island of Mindanao," RSF said.

 

It added the Philippines is ranked 140th out of 179 countries in the 2013 RSF press freedom index.  — ELR, GMA News