Tabloid reporter survives attack in Valenzuela

A reporter of tabloid Tiktik cheated death after a neighborhood toughie shot him at close range yesterday morning in Valenzuela City.

Valenzuela police chief Superintendent Billy Beltran said Roger Panizal, 52, a resident of Artex Compound, Panghulo, Malabon City, sustained three gunshot wounds from a gun of still unknown caliber.

Panizal, who moonlights as a tricycle driver to augment his income, came out of the attack with nothing worse than two gunshot wounds in both hands and a broken finger.

He said he tried to grab the gun after seeing the suspect whip it out and aim it at him. The move deflected the bullets and resulted in a mere graze wound below the left ear and a slight wound in the left shoulder, Beltran told The STAR.

Panizal said he had a run-in some three weeks ago with the suspect he identified only as "George" or "Boy Demonyo."

A heated argument over parking and picking up of passengers arose between the two and degenerated into a fisticuff. After cooler heads intervened and pulled them apart, the suspect allegedly threatened to get even.

Panizal, who was taken to the Valenzuela General Hospital after the incident, was still dazed and shaken at the time of the interview, but was otherwise already out of danger.

Investigation showed that as Panizal set out for his usual routine at around 5:30 a.m. from his house in Panghulo, Malabon, he picked up a still unidentified man on his tricycle.

The passenger asked that he be taken to the nearby St. Jude Subdivision in Malinta, just across the Malabon-Valenzuela boundary.

Upon reaching Sta. Julian street in Malinta, the passenger alighted. The suspect then appeared, blocked his path, drew a gun and fired at him.

Northern Police District (NPD) director Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil ordered a manhunt for Panizal’s assailant.

He gave Beltran and NPD Task Force Usig, composed of the District Investigation and Intelligence Division, District Police Intelligence Unit and North-Criminal Investigation and Detection Management Team 72 hours to arrest the suspect. — With Pete Laude