Land conflict eyed in radio station employee's killing

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Police probers are certain that the killing of a driver of radio station dxMC in Koronadal City Monday was not work-related but could have stemmed from a land dispute involving him and his neighbors.

The victim, Rommel Palma, 31, was about to park the radio station’s service vehicle at the guarded premises of the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital when two motorcycle-riding men opened fire at him with .45-caliber pistols.

Superintendent Michael Lebanan, Koronadal City police chief, said investigators found out that Palma had differences with his neighbors over the boundaries of their lots in Barangay New Pangasinan.

The village of New Pangasinan, located at the eastern side of Koronadal City, is home to Ilonggo, Cebuano and Ilocano settlers.

Palma was employed as a driver of dxMC, but also doubled as a field reporter, but only for weather and traffic updates.

Lebanan said probers had summoned for questioning two of Palma’s neighbors, a certain Bebot Cabrido and Hagibis Cocus, with whom he had had a verbal tussle over the boundaries of their properties a week before the killing.

Lebanan said neighbors overheard Cabrido and Cocus threatening to harm Palma during the altercation.

Cabrido and Cocus, however, both denied having any knowledge on Palma’s killing.

The South Cotabato provincial board has passed a resolution condemning the incident and calling on the police to put those behind it behind bars.

Provincial board member Jose Madanguit said co-pies of the resolution will be forwarded to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome.

The provincial board asked how two men armed with handguns managed to enter the premises of the government hospital and attack Palma despite the presence of security guards.

“Initially we can say it was not work-related. It appears that it was triggered by a land conflict involving him and his neighbors,” Lebanan told reporters.

He said co-workers of Palma at dxMC, an outfit of Bombo Radyo, are convinced that the killing had something to do with Palma’s misunderstandings with his neighbors in Barangay New Pangasinan.

The killing took place at around 5 a.m. Monday on Aguinaldo Street in Koronadal City near the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital’s emergency room where Palma’s companion, reporter Rey Legario of Bombo Radyo-Koronadal, was gathering news.

“If the killing is connected to his job, the information will eventually come out. So far we don’t see any connection with his job,” said Senior Superintendent Randolph Delfin, South Cotabato police director. – With Ramil Bajo, Cecille Suerte Felipe