Confess to Kidapawan radioman’s slay, suspect told

MANILA, Philippines — The suspected gunman in the killing of a Kidapawan broadcaster has been asked to cooperate with authorities or “rot in jail.”

Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) executive director Paul Gutierrez said there are new witnesses, including members of the local police, who can identify Junell Jane Poten, also known as Junell Gerozaga, as the person who shot dead Eduardo Dizon on July 10, 2019.

Gutierrez said Gerozaga, who was arrested on May 2, can either cooperate through a confession in exchange for a possible shorter prison term, or remain silent and exonerate his co-accused and be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

“If Gerozaga thinks it would be best for him to just remain silent, he is utterly mistaken,” the PTFoMS official said in a statement issued yesterday.

Gutierrez met with members of the Special Investigation Team Dizon at the Davao police  headquarters on May 13.

He said the government is firming up its case against the suspects even as he thanked the Davao and Soccsksargen police, local prosecutors, National Bureau of Investigation, the Army’s 10th Infantry Division and Task Force Davao for cooperating with the probe team.

“With this level of cooperation, where all member-agencies of the PTFoMS are working closely together in achieving our common goal of delivering justice to victims of heinous crimes, our hope is high that the case of Dizon would prosper in court,” Gutierrez said.

Gerozaga, 33, was arrested at the house of a barangay council member in Barangay Saguing in Makilala, Cotabato.

The PTFoMS said a person who provided information on the presence of the suspect in the area received an initial reward of P200,000 put up by the Kidapawan city government.