Online broadcaster shot dead in Sorsogon

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — An online broadcaster was gunned down in Sorsogon City on Monday night.

Jobert Bercasio, 39, who was known for his hard-hitting commentaries on his morning program Kurahaw Bicolandia aired on Balangibog TV, a Facebook news page, was on his scooter when motorcycle-riding men shot him several times in Barangay Cabid-an at around 7:56 p.m., Lt. Col. Benito Dipad, Sorsogon City police chief, said.

Dipad said Bercasio suffered four gunshot wounds and died at the scene.

“We have yet to determine the motive for the killing. We are still processing tips that are coming in,” he said.

Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero ordered Col. Roque Bausa, Sorsogon police director, to create a task force to investigate the killing.

Bicol police chief Brig. Gen. Bartolome Bustamante said probers should examine Bercasio’s social media accounts for possible leads on the perpetrators of the killing.

“We will mobilize all means possible within the limits of the law to investigate and identify the culprit of the incident and give justice to the bereaved family,” Bustamante said.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said Bercasio, a former reporter of local radio station dzMS, was known for his commentaries about illegal logging in Sorsogon.

The NUJP noted that an hour before Bercasio was murdered, he complained in a post on Facebook that trucks without proper documents were coming from a quarry area in Bulan town. – Emmanuel Tupas