Press groups condemn killing of Filipino radioman

MANILA, Philippines - International media watchdog groups voiced outrage Tuesday [Manila time] over the killing of radio journalist Ernesto Rollin in Misamis Occidental Monday, saying it showed the culture of impunity still continues. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres/RSF) said Rollin was the first journalist to be killed in the Philippines this year but the 99th since the return of democracy in 1986. "We firmly condemn the murder of Rollin, the latest victim of a culture of violence and impunity that has ravaged the media in the Philippines for too long," it said on its website. "The motive has not yet been established but the modus operandi indicates it was a contract killing ordered by Rollin's enemies and carried out by professional hit-men," it added. Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said Tuesday police investigating units along with Task Force USIG are now investigating the incident. Verzosa, interviewed while inspecting a police station of the Quezon City Police District, said they are not discounting the possibility the killing was work-related. "The police unit that has jurisdiction over Oroquieta City has formed an investigating task group to look into the incident," he said in Filipino over dwIZ radio. Rollin, a presenter on local radio dxSY-AM in Ozamiz City, was gunned down at close range at about 5:30 a.m. in a service station in nearby Oroquieta City. At least two men wearing caps and ski masks aboard a motorcycle shot him, then checked to see he was dead before they drove away. Rollin had been on his way to host his 7:30-9:00 a.m. program. RSF noted the killers "clearly knew" that Rollin was in the habit of parking his car in the service station before catching a bus. The victim's companion Ligaya said she heard the shots before seeing Rollin lying face-down on the ground. She rushed to him and tried to lift him up, but one of the gunmen fired a last at the back of his neck. Quoting his colleagues, including the Ozamiz City representative of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), RSF said Rollin was well-known for being outspoken. "In recent programmes he had covered a controversial decree concerning health workers and the use of cars by officials in Misamis Occidental province," it said. Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor announced that police Superintendent Leonilo Cabug had been put in charge of a special unit tasked with identifying and arresting the suspects. "Rollin had been a journalist for the past 10 years or so. His outspoken comments on his prime-time current affairs programme on DxSY-AM had made him very popular in the province," RSF said. For its part, New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for a swift investigation into the incident. "The reason for Ernie (Rollin's) murder is not yet clear, but the circumstances strongly resemble the frequent assassinations of Philippine journalists in retribution for their outspoken reporting," said Bob Dietz, CPJ Asia program coordinator. "It is good to see that police have responded and are watching closely to ensure that their investigation gets to the root of this latest attack," he added. - GMANews.TV