PNP looking at 4 angles in broadcaster’s slay

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking into at least four angles in the killing of Misamis Occidental radioman Juan “Johnny Walker” Jumalon last Sunday, with motives other than those work-related – including a land dispute and the recent elections – being looked into.

The PNP released yesterday new closed-circuit television footage and a computerized sketch of one of the suspects in the broadcaster’s slaying right in his radio booth.

Lt. Alma Pescador, Misamis Occidental Provincial Police Office spokesperson, told OneNews PH that two suspects have been identified.

“Although the CCTV footage has captured their images, their identities have not yet been positively confirmed,” Pescador clarified in Filipino, as she explained that investigators are exploring multiple angles to determine the motive behind the attack.

Pescador emphasized that details cannot presently be disclosed to avoid preempting the investigation.

When questioned about whether the attack might be job-related, a police officer who interrupted the interview with Pescador on-air replied that the information is not yet being revealed to protect the investigation’s integrity.

The cop added that two witnesses – a working student and a spinner – were present during the attack.

However, Presidential Task Force on Media Safety (PTFOMS) executive director Paul Gutierrez said Jumalon’s media colleagues believed it unlikely that the crime was related to his work as a broadcaster.

“The media colleagues I mentioned are members of the Mindanao Independent Press Council. They were the ones who described the style of Jumalon. And while we do not discount (the possibility) that it was work-related, they were the ones who said that the angle was farfetched… So our initial fear that it was work-related may not be the conclusion. Nevertheless, we are giving our investigators all the freedom to further dig into this issue so we will know all the angles,” Gutierrez said over state-run People’s Television.

He added that authorities are also looking into the possibility that the crime may be motivated by personal reasons or related to the recently concluded barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan