2 suspects in Dumaguete radioman’s slay nabbed

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities arrested a former policeman and another suspect believed to be behind the murder of radio broadcaster Dindo Generoso who was shot dead in Dumaguete last Thursday, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) reported yesterday.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said follow-up operations led to the arrest of former corporal Glenn Corsame, formerly assigned at Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO), and Teddy Reyes Salaw, a resident of Batinguel, Dumaguete City. 

Andanar, also PTFoMS co-chairman, commended Central Visayas police director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon for the immediate arrest of the suspects in Dumaguete last Thursday.

A third suspect, said to be another policeman identified as Cpl. Roger Rubio of the Negros Oriental Police Mobile Force, remains at large.

Malacañang had directed authorities to leave no stone unturned in the investigation of the killing and the filing of charges against the perpetrators. 

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who is also chairman of the PTFoMS, ordered the creation of a task group to track down the suspects and bring them to justice.

PTFoMS co-chairman Joel Egco said authorities tracked down the vehicle used in the daylight shooting by reviewing the closed circuit television footages recorded in the area where Generoso, 67, a blocktimer of dyEM Bai Radio, was ambushed at the corner of Hibbar avenue and EJ Blanco Drive in Barangay Piapi, Dumaguete City.

The search led the police team to Batinguel, Dumaguete City, where they nabbed Salaw. 

When the authorities approached Salaw, the suspect tried to fight it out with cops using his firearm, a .45 caliber NORINCO pistol with eight rounds of live ammunition.

But law enforcers overwhelmed the suspect, placed him under custody and seized his firearm and mobile phone.

A review of the suspect’s text messages showed his links with Corsame, which led to the second suspect’s arrest.

During his arrest, police also found a helmet which matched the description of the one worn by the gunmen as caught on CCTV.

Egco said the PTFoMS received reports which indicated that the suspects are in the employ of a powerful politician in the province. 

While the mastermind and the motive for Generoso’s killing are still the subject of ongoing follow-up operations, appropriate charges are being prepared against Salaw and Corsame.

“The arrest of the suspects is just the beginning of our quest to bring justice for Generoso and his family. This also shows the relentless determination of President Duterte and the PTFoMS, as well as the entire administration, in addressing the threats to our media professionals and to solving all forms of violence against media, especially, killings,” Andanar said.

For his part, Egco praised the PNP officers and colleagues from the media for providing useful information that led to this major breakthrough.

“We will continue to actively protect the rights and lives of our media professionals and constantly seek justice for those who have been affected by these senseless acts,” Egco said.

De Leon said Salaw was apprehended in Barangay Batinguel at around 5 p.m. Corsame was nabbed in Barangay Banilad at around 7 p.m.

De Leon said the suspects were indentified through footage from CCTV cameras.

“They were spotted alighting from a pickup and transferring to a motorcycle,” he said.

Police tracker teams were able to locate the suspects through the pickup’s conduction sticker, plate number and their escape routes.

De Leon said they have yet to determine the motive behind Generoso’s murder since the suspects refused to talk to investigators.

The police official earlier said the possible motives in the killing could be related to Generoso’s job as a broadcaster, politics and a family land dispute.

Generoso ran for mayor of Dumaguete in the 2016 elections but was declared a nuisance candidate.

Meanwhile, a radio announcer accused of extorting money from local carnivals was arrested by police officers in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro on Thursday.

Lt. Col. Adonis Guzman, who heads the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s (CIDG) field office in Mimaropa, identified the suspect as Edison Mancera, 45, an announcer of 102.9 FM Radio Natin.

The suspect was arrested during an entrapment in Barangay Lalud.

Guzman said the operation stemmed from the complaint of journalists in the province that Mancera was extorting money from carnival operators as protection money, supposedly for the benefit of the members of the Mimaropa Press Corps.

He is also posing as a reporter for radio station dzRH.

This prompted journalists and carnival operators to lodge a complaint against Mancera before the police.

Policemen seized the P10,000 in marked money and two cellphones from the suspect, who is facing charges of robbery extortion.