A JOURNALIST who previously sought help from authorities after receiving death threats was killed after gunmen attacked his home and fatally shot him in Calbayog City in the eastern Visayas province of Samar.
The 58-year old Jesus Malabanan, who wrote for several newspapers in Manila, was killed by motorcycle gunmen on the evening of December 8. The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) has condemned the slaying and ordered an investigation into the killing.
“Jess is a personal friend of mine. This cowardly killing in the midst of a pandemic is truly unforgivable. We will get to the bottom of this and will stop at nothing in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this despicable crime,” said PTFoMS Executive Director Joel Egco.
Egco, quoting an official police report by Lt. Nieto Rarugal, of the Calbayog City Police Station, said the journalist was shot in the head while watching television inside their store in the village of San Joaquin in Tinambacan district.
Malabanan was rushed to hospital following the shooting, but doctors declared him dead.
“The PTFoMS is on top of the situation and has directed the Philippine National Police to thoroughly investigate the heinous crime,” Egco said, adding, he will go to Calbayog to personally oversee the probe into Malabanan’s death and to attend the wake and condole with the victim’s family and friends.
He said the PTFoMS will “not sleep” until the perpetrators are apprehended.
“The PNP is currently conducting a hot pursuit operation to apprehend the suspects who fled the incident headed northbound towards the direction of San Isidro, Northern Samar. The San Isidro MPS has also been alerted of the crime and were tasked to conduct a checkpoint for possible identity and arrest of the fleeing suspects, Egco said, quoting Rarugal’s report.
Malabanan was previously residing in Angeles City in Pampanga province in central Luzon, but transferred to Calbayog City after receiving death threats from an unknown group.
Egco said the journalist first sought the help of PTFoMS in 2017 because of threats to his life and was given police security. It was unknown whether Malabanan had security prior to his murder.
Egco reminded all media practitioners to report to PTFoMS any threat or harassment they receive so that they can be acted upon immediately. “Always remember that the PTFoMS is here to serve you 24/7. We can provide you with necessary assistance and security if you feel that your lives are being threatened in any way,” he said.
The PTFoMS was created in 2016 after President Rodrigo Duterte won the election to safeguard press freedom by protecting the life, liberty and security of legitimate media workers.
Ego said the PTFoMS oversaw the 51st case of media killing that resulted in a guilty verdict, bringing to 68 the total number of media killers that were convicted by the courts.
The latest killing was condemned by various media groups and organizations.
Al Jazeera reported that before Malabanan’s killing, data compiled by the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) showed that at least 21 journalists had been killed in the country since Duterte took over as president in June 2016.
In a social media post, journalist Manny Mogato, who was also part of the Reuters team that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, wrote that Malabanan “helped Reuters a lot in the drug war stories that won a Pulitzer in 2018. I joined fellow journalists in condemning the assassination of Jess…it is totally unacceptable. Justice for Jess.”
According to Al Jazeera, the Reuter’s award-winning series of stories exposed “the brutal killing campaign behind President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs,” according to the Pulitzer citation.
It said the Reuters team reported on the role of Davao police officers in the deadly drug raids in Manila, as well as the use of hospitals to hide drug killings. Duterte’s drug war, which left thousands of alleged drug suspects dead, is now the subject of an investigation by the International Criminal Court.
In a statement, the Pampanga Press Club also called on authorities “to help in the prompt investigation that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of this cowardly act in the interest of justice.”
The NUJP and Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento also issued a statement “condemning the senseless killing” of Malabanan.
“The people of Calbayog are enraged with the assassination of veteran journalist Jesus Malabanan. This spate of violence in our city that has also claimed the life of our beloved Mayor Ronaldo Aquino should already serve as a wake-up call for our law enforcement authorities to take a deep and serious look at the continued proliferation of private armed groups and individuals who continue smear the good and peaceful nature of Calbayognons and the people of Samar. I am calling on the PNP leadership to leave no stones unturned in the investigation of this cold-blooded murder of Malabanan, a Kapampangan who has embraced Calbayog as his home,” Sarmiento said. (Cebu Examiner)
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