Stop Media Killings!

With the 2010 national elections raring to start, political violence will most likely escalate--but maybe not if Task Force 211 does its job.

BERT SISON, a media reporter of  Top News, was gunned down on June 30, 2008, in Baranggay Lutucan, Malabag, Sariaya, Quezon. Task Force (TF) 211 caused the expeditious apprehension of the persons involved in this killing.

Immediately upon learning about the incident, a team from TF 211’s Operations Group proceeded to Sariaya, Quezon, to check on the investigation then being conducted by the Philippine National Police. The team evaluated the status of the investigation and gave several recommendations to ensure a strong case against the suspects, including a strong recommendation to hunt for the real suspects based on its findings that the suspects initially arrested were not the real culprits. TF 211 also worked for and gained the victim’s family trust and cooperation. 

Bert Sison’s daughters, who survived the ambush, received death threats, thus they were placed under the coverage of the Witness Protection Program. Finally, TF 211 facilitated the conduct of preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice in Manila, which resulted in the speedy disposition of the case.

Dennis Cuesta, anchorman and program director of RMN DXMD in General Santos City, was attacked on August 4, 2008. He was still alive when he was taken to the hospital but passed away five days later. While monitoring the investigation, TF 211 observed a lackadaisical progress on the case, so it sent an investigating team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila to conduct a parallel and independent investigation of the incident and to locate and secure all vital witnesses to the incident.

Consequently, on August 18, 2008, the NBI team indicted two respondents in the killing, one of whom was a high-ranking police officer in General Santos City. On February 3, 2009, an information for murder was filed with the Regional Trial Court of General Santos City and a Warrant of Arrest was issued on the same day.

Martin Roxas, a radio announcer of RMN Radyo Agong, was gunned down on August 7, 2008. TF 211 promptly coordinated with PNP’s Task Force Usig to hasten the investigation of the case and to cause the immediate arrest of suspects. It likewise instructed the Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) of Roxas City to assist the PNP in the investigation, especially in regard to the conscientious collection and preservation of evidence in the case. As a result of a dragnet operation, the perpetrators were immediately arrested and a case for inquest was filed before the OCP of Roxas City on August 11, 2008. Upon TF 211’s suggestion, a special panel of prosecutors was created to ensure a judicious and expeditious resolution of the case. On August 14, 2008, or merely seven days after the killing incident, a case for murder was filed with the Regional Trial Court  of Roxas City.

Arecio Padrigao, a radio commentator from Gingoog, Misamis Oriental, was gunned down by unidentified gunmen in the presence of his daughter on  November 17, 2008. Immediately after learning about the incident, Justice Undersecretary and Task Force 211 Chairman Ricardo Blancaflor mobilized the task force’s law enforcement components and sent a team of investigators and prosecutors in Gingoog to oversee and expedite the investigation of the case. The prosecutor’s office, NBI, and PNP worked together in gathering evidence to ensure a speedy resolution of the case. As a result, a case was filled for preliminary investigation on November 28, 2008, and an information for murder was filed with the RTC of Gingoog City on February 16, 2009.

The cases of mediamen Bert Sison, Dennis Cuesta, and Martin Roxas were resolved through the efforts of Task Force 211 in an average of nine and a half working days.

Task Force 211 is the Task Force Against Political Violence, created by virtue of Administrative Order 211 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo  on November 26, 2007.

The task force was specifically mandated “to harness and mobilize government agencies, political groups, the religious, civil society, and sectoral organizations and the public for the following purposes: 1) the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of political violence; 2) the care and protection of people and communities victimized and threatened with violence; and  3) the promotion of a culture opposed to violence and for the advancement of reconciliation and peace.”

In a recent Bulong Pulungan, the media forum held at Sofitel Hotel every Tuesday, Undersecretary Blancaflor reported that in just a year and a half since its creation, TF 211 has already made significant strides in the crusade against political violence and extralegal killings.

The Task Force scored its first conviction with the Jose Doton case. Doton, secretary general of Bayan Muna, was killed on May 16, 2006. Doton was reported to have been active in the advocacy of peasant-related issues. The suspect, Joel Flores, was meted the penalty of reclusion perpetua in a decision promulgated  on June 10, 2008, by Judge Ulysses Butuyan of Branch 51 of the Regional Trial Court in Tayug, Pangasinan.

On April 29, 2009, TF 211 scored its first conviction in its media killings cases with the conviction of Joy ‘Tungol’ Anticamara, killer of broadcaster Armando Pace. Judge Albert Axalan of the RTC Branch 20 in Malita, Davao Del Sur, sentenced Anticamara guilty of homicide and to serve up to 17 years in jail.

During the Bulong Pulungan, Undersecretary Blancaflor lamented that political violence, especially media killings, often occupy the front pages of major dailies, but cases solved by the Task Force hardly merit any space in the same dailies.

            He said conviction of the suspects should be published to serve as deterrent to the spate of political killings.