Vice mayor wants ‘shoot to kill’ stance vs radioman’s attackers

MANILA, Philippines - Cagayan de Oro City Vice Mayor Vicente Emano ordered the city police Friday to adopt a “shoot-to-kill" stance against gunmen who shot and wounded a radio broadcaster Thursday night. Emano said in a radio interview Friday the policy is meant to deter further assassination attempts on media practitioners in the city. “Ang policy ko yan kung lalaban barilin, di yung patago-tago pa ... baka dito magsimula ang pagbaril-baril ng tao sa media [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 media]," he said in an interview on dzXL radio. On Thursday night, unidentified motorcycle-riding men shot and seriously wounded Nilo Labares, a broadcaster of dxCC-Radio Mindanao Network, at about 8 p.m. Labares sustained two gunshot wounds in the body. He was rushed to the Maria Reyna Hospital where he was in critical condition. Emano said he had talked to Labares. He indicated victim gave him leads on the identities of his attackers, and that the incident was work-related. “Si Labares kapareho ninyo sa Manila, crusader for better government, transparency, at laban sa illegal, kaya maraming medyo mainit [Labares like you in Metro Manila is a crusader for better government, transparency and fight against illegal activities. He has stepped on a lot of toes]," he said. The vice mayor hinted the incident was related to “video karera" and gambling activities in the city. “Very lately meron siyang tinutukan palagay ko naging dahilan ng pagbaril [Very lately Labares had been focusing on some issues that I think may have triggered the attack]," he said. Meanwhile, Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas spokesman Reggie Jularbal said they have coordinated with Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor. Jularbal said the KBP has called on authorities to “act swiftly to solve this case against attack on media personalities" to deter further attacks. “Ito ay hindi pa, malayo pa ang election, paano pag election na [This happened with the election still far away. What if the election nears?]" he said in a separate interview on dzXL. - GMANews.TV