Laguna newsman shot dead

STA. CRUZ, Laguna — Only three months since a radio announcer was gunned down in Lucena City, another hard-hitting newsman was silenced by an assassin’s bullet here on Tuesday night.

Noel Villarante, 32, columnist of Laguna Score, a community paper here, and a broadcaster of local radio station dzJV, was gunned down in front of his house at about 6:45 p.m.

Chief Inspector Josemarte Paras, Sta. Cruz police chief, said Villarante could have survived the attack if the gunman had not returned to finish him off.

Villarante was first shot in the chest as he emerged from his house in Barangay Duhat. Although bleeding, he was still able to run back to his house to ask for help from his family.

"May tama ako, mabubuhay ako (I was shot but I can survive)," Villarante’s wife, Jocelyn, quoted him as saying.

But while they were rushing to get him out of the house to take him to the hospital, the gunman returned and pumped more bullets into his head to finish him off.

The suspects reportedly fled aboard a red Mitsubishi Adventure van toward the south.

Ulysses Lopez, Villarante’s editor in Laguna Score, told The STAR Villarante’s murder is definitely job-related, saying Villarante was known for his hard-hitting commentaries against politicians.

"Regular na sa kanya ang mga death threats. Marami nga siyang natatanggap lately pero hindi niya sa amin dini-detalye (Death threats were normal to him. He had been receiving a lot lately but he did not disclose the details to us), " Lopez said.

In an interview with radio station dzRH, Jocelyn mentioned provincial board members Rolando Bagnes and Susano Tapia as being allegedly at odds with her husband. Bagnes and Tapia, however, both denied this.

When interviewed by The STAR, Jocelyn backtracked on her statement against Tapia and instead recalled that Gov. Teresita Lazaro had an argument with her husband prior to the killing.

When reached by The STAR for comment, Lazaro vehemently denied the accusation and said she did not know Villarante.

Police said the murder could be the handiwork of drug syndicates since Villarante was known to be deeply involved in exposing the activities of illegal drug pushers in the area.

Vice Gov. Dan Fernandez deplored the killing and promised to help the family of the slain mediaman in seeking justice.

Camp Vicente Lim Press Corps president Benjie de Galicia also condemned Villarante’s murder, saying it was a brutal attempt to stifle efforts of the local media in exposing graft and corruption and other irregularities.