CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered yesterday the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a parallel probe into the killing of radio commentator Cresenciano Bundoquin in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.
Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) executive director Paul Gutierrez said Remulla’s directive aims to hasten the resolution of the case “for us get a clear picture of what happened and who are the other persons who may have masterminded the attack on Bundoquin.”
Gutierrez met with Remulla yesterday to discuss the developments in the case.
The PTFoMS had earlier said that aside from the identified gunman, Isabelo Bautista, there are three persons of interest, including a member of a political clan in Mindoro.
Gutierrez said the gunman and his cohort, who died when hit by the car of the victim’s son who gave chase, were workers in local peryahan games in Mindoro.
“The emerging motive is the proliferation of illegal gambling in the province using peryahan as cover and politics, which Bundoquin criticized in his radio program,” Gutierrez said.
He said Remulla ordered the NBI to explore all angles, noting that the probe must not be limited to a grudge as the motive.
Bundoquin, a radio commentator at Kalahi News FM and MUX online radio, was shot as he was about to open his store in Barangay Sta. Isabel last week. – Artemio Dumlao