NBI steps into Mindoro journalist’s killing

MANILA, Philippines — Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are now looking into the killing of a former vice governor and radio commentator in Mindoro Occidental. Provincial governor Josephine Sato said Wednesday the NBI sent a team of investigators to San Jose town where Crispin Perez was attacked Tuesday. “I am thankful to NBI Director Nestor Mantaring. He sent a team of investigators here to support the police investigation," Sato said in an interview on dzXL radio. Initial reports showed an unidentified attacker stabbed and fatally shot Perez inside his home on Tuesday in San Jose town in Mindoro Occidental on Tuesday, shortly after his morning radio show at local station dwDO. Sato said Perez had no security personnel. “’Yan ay talagang napakatapang. ‘Yan isa sa pinakarespetadong media practitioner at broadcaster sa aming lalawigan (He’s really bold. He’s one of the most respected broadcasters in the province)," she said. She said it was possible the killing stemmed from his commentaries. “In past weeks, he had been focusing on many issues. That is a possible motive," she said. Meanwhile, a New York-based media watchdog group called Wednesday (Manila time) for a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of Perez. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Perez was the fourth journalist killed in a shooting attack in the Philippines this year alone. “We urge local police, in cooperation with the Philippine government, to pursue the investigation into Crispin Perez’s murder promptly to establish whether he was killed for his broadcasts. Authorities must address the shockingly high level of violence against Philippine journalists by bringing those responsible to justice," said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia Program coordinator, on the CPJ website (http://cpj.org/2009/06/philippine-broadcast-journalist-shot-dead.php). Perez was a former politician who had also worked as a lawyer, CPJ noted. His attacker fled on a motorcycle, the CPJ cited news accounts as saying. Perez was declared dead on arrival at the local hospital. CPJ also said it is investigating whether Perez and two other radio broadcasters, Badrodin Abbas who was killed in January and Ernie Rollin in February, were targeted for their commentaries. It also noted that tabloid reporter Jojo Trajano was killed in a crossfire while covering a police raid on June 3. Two other radio journalists, Harrison Manalac and Nilo Labares, survived gunshot wounds following attempts on their lives in May and March respectively. CPJ said it has not confirmed the motive in those attacks. “The six shootings, which were scattered throughout the Philippines, do not appear to be related, but took place in a climate of near-total impunity in journalist murder cases," CPJ said, citing its research. It added that radio broadcasters, who frequently lease airtime from stations to broadcast personal commentaries without editorial input, are particularly vulnerable to violent retribution from listeners. In the 2009 Impunity Index of CPJ launched last March, the Philippines ranked sixth worldwide among countries that failed to prosecute cases of slain journalists. - GMANews.TV