GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Malacañang, LGUs offer P400K reward for info on killers of Dumaguete newsman Sestoso
DUMAGUETE CITY — Authorities are now offering a reward amounting to up to P400,000 to anyone who can give solid information on the whereabouts of the killers of Dumaguete radio broadcaster Edmund Sestoso.
Dumaguete Press Club president Juancho Gallarde revealed this in a speech during an indignation rally organized by the members of the local media Thursday.
He added that the national government is giving P200,000, while the local government units of Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental are giving P100,000 each.
"If [the killing] happened to Edmund, it can happen to all of us," said Gallarde, who is also the news director and anchor for radio station dyEM.
The National Bureau of Investigation has also released an official artist's sketch of one of Sestoso's killers, who is estimated to be in his thirties. It was first shared on local news pages and is now circulating on social media.
Tribute
Around 200 people, including Sestoso's avid listeners, attended the prayer rally at Quezon Park, Dumaguete City's main public space. The rally ended in a candle-lighting ceremony giving tribute and calling for justice for Sestoso, who was shot on Monday by unidentified gunmen and later died from his injuries at the hospital.
Among those who paid tribute to the slain broadcaster was his close friend Anthony Maginsay, news reporter of station dyWC, who went emotional in his speech.
"Nagkurog ko sa una nakong pagkadungog nga napusil siya. Ako iyang pirmeng kauban ug kaon, ug coverage, bisa'g asa. Hangtod karon dili gihapon ko katoo nga wala na siya [I was shaking the first time I heard he was shot. I was his frequent companion during meals, during coverage, and we would go together anywhere we wanted. Until now, I still can't believe he's not with us anymore]," he said.
Another indignation rally is set to be staged on Friday at the Freedom Park, Negros Oriental's main public space and the province's Kilometer Zero.
Aside from the rallies, members of the Dumaguete press also held a special radio program on Wednesday, which was simulcast on six FM and two AM stations serving Dumaguete City.
Local newspapers in Dumaguete are also expected to publish a pooled editorial on Sunday condemning Sestoso's murder.
Meanwhile, Malacañang's Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) and other Palace officials came to this city Wednesday to begin its probe into Sestoso's murder.
PTFoMS head Joel Sy Egco, who is also undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), went to Sestoso's wake on Thursday, together with Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and Special Assistant to the President Bong Go.
As part of the Palace investigation, the three met with officials of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO), the Philippine Army's 303rd Infantry Brigade and the 62nd Infantry Battalion, among others, in a closed-door meeting to discuss the incident.
As part of the Palace investigation, the three met with officials of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO), the Philippine Army's 303rd Infantry Brigade and the 62nd Infantry Battalion, among others, in a closed-door meeting to discuss the incident.
Police are still staring at a blank wall on the motive of the murder, but Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) Director Senior Superintendent Edwin Portento said that they are now looking into three specific angles: his job as a broadcaster, his family, and his political affiliation as well as his connection with progressive groups.
He added that Sestoso's cellphone has been submitted to the PNP's Cybercrime Division for a forensic investigation. The broadcaster's last phone conversation, according to his reporter Nikki Magbanua, was with a Tagalog-speaking individual whose number was not registered in his phonebook.
Portento declined to disclose if they already have leads.
He added that Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 Director Chief Superintendent Robert Quenery has also mandated him to intensify their investigation into Sestoso's killing. "Nakikiramay din ang PNP sa naiwang pamilya niya," he added.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, during the regular press briefing Thursday, said Malacañang also condemns Sestoso's killing.
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) has condemned Sestoso's killing in a statement, noting that he is the ninth journalist killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 and the 181st since 1986.
For its part, the Center of Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) noted on Twitter that Sestoso is the first journalist in the country killed this year.
ALERT: A local radio broadcaster in Dumaguete City died a day after an unidentified gunman shot him on April 30. The first case of journalist killing in 2018 happened few days before the May 3 World Press Freedom Day. https://t.co/u3wpgFVPyU #PressFreedom #EndImpunityinPH pic.twitter.com/Ni9cOVUVQG
— CMFR (@cmfr) May 1, 2018
— BM, GMA News
