Task force formed to probe Davao broadcaster’s ambush

DAVAO CITY — Police here formed "Task Force Pala" to investigate the ambush of city councilor and hard-hitting broadcaster Juan "Jun" Pala and two of his companions last Thursday.

Pala, 47, who sustained gunshot wounds in the arm and the nape, survived the ambush but his driver, Lito Agunanza, is still in critical condition. His bodyguard, Romeo Roluna, was unscathed.

The task force will be headed by Davao City police chief Senior Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia and will have three components — investigation, intelligence and operations. Each of the components has been assigned specific task for the speedy resolution of the Pala case.

Cartographic sketches of at least two gunmen have been distributed here to help authorities in their manhunt.

Garcia said the ambush on Pala appeared to be well-planned and that it would require a thorough operation and intelligence work on their part to solve the case.

He added that investigators are looking into reports that paid assassins were involved in the ambush.

"Pala has earned the ire of people he attacked on his morning radio program over DXUM Radio Ukay, and these people could be the ones who hired the gunmen for the ambush," he said.

Garcia, however, is not discounting the possibility that the ambush could also be the handiwork of New People’s Army rebels because Pala is known to be an anti-communism advocate.

Pala became popular for promoting the Alsa Masa civilian uprising against communist guerrillas who made Davao City an experimental ‘killing field’in the 1980s.