Kalinga gov in hot water for attacking broadcaster

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines  – Kalinga Gov. Jocel Baac faces criminal and administrative charges for breaking into the announcer’s booth of dzRK-Radyo ng Bayan in Tabuk City past noon on Tuesday and whacking a broadcaster with a microphone.

Baac, who has kept mum about the incident, allegedly threatened to kill broadcaster Jerome Tabanganay if he would not stop criticizing him.

Tabanganay is determined to file criminal and administrative complaints against Baac who he said stormed into the announcer’s booth together with his fully armed bodyguards as he was ending his “Agenda II” radio program.

Baac allegedly grabbed the guest’s microphone and smashed it on Tabanganay’s forehead, saying, “Sobra kan (You are already too much).”

Cooler heads, including uniformed policemen detailed at the radio station following a failed arson try there last May 24, pacified the governor.

Before he left though, Baac reportedly said, “Agsao ka pay ta patayen ka (You talk more and I will kill you).”

The incident has grabbed nationwide attention with different media groups condemning Baac and his action.

In protest, dzRK-Tabuk has gone off the air since Tuesday afternoon to demonstrate its condemnation. 

The management of the government-run Radyo ng Bayan has called dzRK-Tabuk manager Basilio Baluyan to a meeting in Manila for the filing of charges against Baac.

Last Monday, Baluyan himself was berated by Baac during the government-initiated “Kapihan sa Kapitol” forum as the May 24 attempt to burn down the radio station drew “international and national attention” and would negatively impact on the image of the province.

Members of the Kalinga Media Club decried the incident, saying Baac’s action was uncalled for.

A national media group described the incident as a stark example of the daily threats provincial journalists are facing.

Tabanganay, who survived a slay attempt right at the radio station in September last year, appealed to authorities to help him in his quest for justice over the incident. 

“It will also be a quest against impunity,” he said.

The broadcaster linked Baac’s action to criticisms on the resurgence of jueteng in the province and reports implicating one of his relatives to illegal logging.

Last May 24, men believed to be under the employ of jueteng operators tried to burn down the radio station by lobbing Molotov cocktails in one of its rooms, but alert security guards foiled the arson attempt.

After the attack on dzRK-Tabuk, jueteng operations stopped and have not resumed since then. – With Raymund Catindig, Charlie Lagasca