Broadcaster shot, wounded in Cagayan de Oro

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Two still unidentified gunmen shot dxCC Radio Mindanao Network broadcaster Nilo Labares late Thursday night, the latest in a series of media figures targeted, according to police.

Labares, who was on a motorcycle along Tomas Saco Street in Cagayan de Oro City when he was attacked, suffered two gunshot wounds in his chest and is still in critical condition at the Maria Reyna Medical Hospital in Cagayan de Oro.

Police are still investigating the incident.

Labares, 47, had received a threat on his cell phone two weeks ago warning him not to continue his radio station’s campaign against illegal gambling in the area, dxCC’s news chief Rey Maraunay said.

Labares, who has worked for the station for more than 10 years, is also editor-in-chief of a local weekly paper, Sports and News.

Cagayan de Oro Vice Mayor Emano Labares said the broadcaster could have been targeted because of his criticism of illegal gambling.

The vice mayor said he ordered police in the city to take steps to deter other possible attacks on journalists by adopting a “shoot-to-kill” policy against assailants.

“My policy is for them to shoot the suspects if they resist. No more allowing them to flee. Besides, this may start a killing spree against the media,” he said.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said President Arroyo had instructed the police “to leave no stone unturned to ensure justice is served and identify the killers.”

In line with this, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Task Force Usig ordered the full mobilization of its national and local investigators to look into the assassination attempt.

Police Director Raul Bacalzo, chief of the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) and Task Force Usig Commander, ordered Northern Mindanao Police Regional Director Chief Superintendent Danilo Empedrad to closely coordinate their efforts with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Task Force 211.

Task Force 211 agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are also conducting a parallel probe on the failed attempt on Labares.

Bacalzo said combined police agents from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU) as well as the city police office are now tracking the suspects.

“The suspects were masked and their motorcycles had no license plates,” Bacalzo said, adding that probers are still trying to establish the motive behind the incident. – Ben Serrano  with Jaime Laude, AP