Politicians eyed in attacks on journalists

Politicians are being eyed in recent attacks on journalists.

In Nueva Ecija, Vice Gov. Mariano Cristino Joson linked yesterday Rep. Aurelio Umali to the killing of radio reporter Carmelo "Mark" Palacios.

However, Umali, who is running for governor against Joson, told The STAR he had nothing to do with the murder of Palacios.

"May the wrath of God fall on the perpetrators of the killing of Mark, down to their sons and daughters," Umali said.

Joson said the murder might have something to do with the multimillion-peso fertilizer scam in the third congressional district of Nueva Ecija.

Speaking at a political caucus in his hometown of Quezon, Joson said he would abandon his candidacy for governor if Umali could prove that he had nothing to do with the fertilizer scam.

"I’ll be more than willing to drop my ambitions if Umali could show his innocence," he said. "I’ll let him run the Capitol."

Nueva Ecija police commander Senior Superintendent Allen Bantolo said reports had been circulating that Palacios had accused Umali of benefiting from the fertilizer scam.

However, police had no evidence to build an airtight case against Umali, Bantolo said.

Superintendent Benjamin de la Cruz, Sta. Rosa police chief, said investigators are looking at the fertilizer scam angle in determining why Palacios was killed.

"The murder of Palacios was work-related," he said. "It has something to do with his job as a reporter."

Quoting police reports, Dela Cruz said Palacios was hit with a hard object before he was shot and killed.

"They (killers) were consumed with great hatred," he said.

In Lucena City, broadcaster Delfin Mallari Jr., who survived an attempt to kill him on Thursday morning, told The STAR Quezon Rep. Rafael Nantes threatened him: "Pag natalo ako sa eleksyon na ‘to, dadanak ng dugo, hindi ko alam kung ano ang gagawin ng mga tao ko."

Nantes and San Narciso, Quezon town Mayor Victor Reyes were the last persons whom he and Johnny Glorioso had hit in their radio program before the attempt on their lives.

Glorioso was with Mallari when he was shot by two gunmen on a motorcycle on Thursday morning while they were on their way to the radio station, from where their hard-hitting program is aired.

Mallari said Nantes had offered him money to finance his radio program if he would stop hitting him in his radio program.

"We rejected the money because our listeners might think that Congressman Nantes had already bought us," he said in Filipino.

Instead he offered Nantes a chance to answer on the air any negative issues that might pop up against him during the election period, Mallari added.

Mallari said on the first week of May, Nantes met with him and Glorioso and asked them to stop attacking him in their radio program and instead help him in his campaign.

When they were about to leave, Nantes tried to talk to Glorioso separately and told him to convince Mallari to stop criticizing him over the radio, he added.

Nantes is running for governor of Quezon, while Reyes is seeking a congressional seat in the third district of the province.

Meanwhile, two witnesses were able to describe one of the two gunmen who shot Mallari and Glorioso along the highway in Barangay Ibabang Dupay around 7:40 a.m. on Thursday.

In Dagupan City, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Oscar Cruz said the shooting and killing of journalists will not silence the truth.

"There are some realities which these people who are in tenure of power and influence think that they could attempt to silence the truth by guns, goons and gold," he said.

"No ma’am, no sir. Ultimately, all of you (the media) will be silenced, but the truth will come out and as the Good Book said, it is the truth that will set us free."

Cruz, a former Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president, said since President Arroyo assumed power in 2001, some 51 journalists have been killed.

Cruz said it is bad news for the country, and for the international community when a government becomes abusive of human rights and exploitative of its citizens.

"A corrupt government and a militaristic administration is always

afraid of truth, it’s called inconvenient truth, and media people are the ones who take the courage to expose it," he said.

His heart goes out to the media people killed and their relatives who are grieving for this atrocity, Cruz said.

On the other hand, the Genuine Opposition joined calls yesterday for the immediate arrest of the attackers of Mallari and Glorioso.

"We denounce in no uncertain terms this latest incident against members of the fourth estate," said Adel Tamano, GO spokesman.

"Thus, the criminals have taken the next step in media suppression by actually killing journalists who expose corruption." - with Arnell Ozaeta, Eva Visperas, Christina Mendez