ZAMBOANGA CITY, 15 November 2004 — Gunmen shot and wounded a radio broadcaster in the central Philippines, the latest victim in a series of attacks on jurnalists in the Philippines, a police official said yesterday.
Herson Hinolan, a manager and commentator for the popular Bombo radio network in central province of Aklan, was shot in the stomach and arms by one of at least two men in a store late Saturday and was hospitalized, said regional police chief George Ali?o.
The motive of the attack against Hinolan, who has a reputation as a hard-hitting commentator, was not immediately clear. Investigators have asked witnesses for description of the attackers and other information, Ali?o said. Aklan is about 360 kilometers (220 miles) south of Manila.
On Friday, a man fatally shot Gene Boyd Lumawag, a photo editor for the independent Philippine news agency MindaNews, near the pier where he took pictures of the sunset on Jolo, a violence-wracked southern island where the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf has a presence.
Lumawag, 26, had also worked for the national newspaper, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and has provided pictures for foreign news agencies including The Associated Press.
MindaNews board member Amy Cabusao said Lumawag was in Jolo with a reporter to work on a video documentary on transparency, accountability and governance in the southern Mindanao area for The Asia Foundation, a US-based nongovernment group that seeks to foster development in the Asia-Pacific region.
A local media organization, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, said Lumawag was the 48th journalist killed since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986 and the ninth killed this year.
Another group, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, (NUJP) has described this year as the worst for Filipino journalists due to the large number of such attacks.
Last month, radio commentator Eldy Sablas, also known as Eldy Gabinales, was shot in Tandag town in Surigao del Sur province. No suspect has been arrested in the killing of Sablas, who was a vocal critic of the illegal drug trade and gambling in his town.
Col. Domingo Tutaan, chief of staff of the military’s Southern Command, said the killing of Lumawag suggested it may have been a “thrill killing.
The army commander in Jolo earlier tagged Lumawag’s killer as a member of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist gang.
Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of Task Force Comet in Jolo, said the profile of the suspect fit the description of an Abu Sayyaf member on the military’s wanted list. He did not give any details.
“The Abu Sayyaf fielded some members. They were going around and observing. They knew that US Ambassador Ricciardone was coming,” said another military source.
Witnesses interviewed by the Inquirer said Lumawag might have been mistaken for a military asset because of how he was dressed and the way he talked, which marked him out to be a stranger.
They said Lumawag, who was from Davao City in southeastern Mindanao, may have invited suspicion because he was wearing gray cargo pants and a checkered scarf and spoke Tagalog. Non-Muslims and Christians in Jolo spoke Tausug, the witnesses said.
But the NUJP said it did not believe Lumawag was killed by the Abu Sayyaf.
“Gene’s colleagues say the Abu Sayyaf or any other Moro rebel group had no reason to want him dead. He has covered the Muslim insurgency with professionalism and had just been part of a team that featured the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Also, we must point out that the Abu Sayyaf has been known to kidnap, but not murder, journalists,” the NUJP said in a statement.
The group said the authorities should look into reports that Lumawag and Arguillas were in Jolo to do a story on corruption.
“Hasty pinpointing of blame could withhold justice from Gene and his family. If indeed the suspects were members of the Abu Sayyaf, authorities should explain why the group had targeted Gene for murder, and try to investigate if the suspects were working for other groups or individuals,” the NUJP said.
Amy Cabusao, a board member of Mindanews, said Arguillas and Lumawag were in Jolo to interview officials as part of a video documentary project on transparency, accountability and governance in the southern Mindanao region for the Asia Foundation, the US-based development organization..
The NUJP noted that just the day before Lumawag’s death, Mindanews had reported a threat made against another journalist.
Reporter Jeoffrey Maitem said soldiers had threatened ABS-CBN television reporter Paul Palacio and his cameraman Loloy Cagayan with bursts of gunfire while the duo was covering an alleged collection of “toll fees” among dump truck drivers hauling aggregates from a quarry site near the headquarters of the army’s 6th Infantry Division in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, Maguindanao province. (Additional input from INS & Agencies)
