Suspect in Cebu radio reporter’s slay yields

CEBU CITY — The suspected killer of Bantay Radyo reporter George Benaojan gave himself up to the operatives of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID) last Thursday night, a month and 12 days after the incident.

Jinky Jagdon said he surrendered to the RIID team led by Chief Inspector Romeo Santander in Sitio Bontores, Basak-San Nicolas here to clear his name.

He added that he had received threats to his life.

Adriano Llanos, who witnessed the shooting of Benaojan, however, positively identified Jagdon from a police line-up last Friday morning at the RIID-7 office. It was also Llanos who drove Benaojan to the hospital.

Nine other men were asked to join the suspect in the line-up, but Llanos easily picked Jagdon out.

Jagdon’s lawyer, Rameses Villagonzalo, said his client surrendered to seek police protection and that he is willing to cooperate to solve the case.

Senior Superintendent Augusto Marquez Jr., RIID chief, said Jagdon sent feelers about his surrender last Dec. 16 through a relative, who is known to Santander.

It was only after lengthy negotiations that Jagdon finally gave up.

Banaojan was shot in the evening of Dec. 1, 2005 inside the Talisay South Central Market and died hours later at the Chong Hua Hospital.

Jagdon told reporters that all the accusations against him are not true. He said he would not ask forgiveness from the relatives of the slain radioman since that would be tantamount to admitting the crime.

Jagdon said he transferred from Lawaan, Talisay to Kinasang-an in 2002 after two of his neighbors, who are brothers, pointed a gun at him and threw stones at his house.

He added that he was harassed since he was accused of being a police informer.

Jagdon, a former professional boxer, said the same people who harassed him were the ones who made sure that his name would be dragged into Benaojan’s killing.

He said these people, whom he accused of being drug lords, were the ones responsible for the murder.

Jagdon also denied the allegation that he killed Felix de los Santos, a tanod of Barangay Pahina Central in 2002.

Jagdon, 40, is married and has four children, the eldest of whom is 10 years old and the youngest, six.

He said he started his boxing career as an amateur in 1979 and was a gold medallist in the National Open in the same year.

He said he turned pro in 1987 and won a championship belt here in Cebu in 1989 as a bantamweight. He also claimed to have fought 46 times, logging 30 wins, four losses and 12 draws.

Records from www.boxrec.com, however, show that a certain Dingky Jagdon, who turned professional on June 24, 1987, had a three-year professional career that finished with one win and six losses.

Jagdon was committed to the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center here after his surrender because of a pending warrant against him in connection with the tanod’s killing in 2002. — Freeman News Service