Cagayan de Oro police to probe threats vs radioman

The local police of Cagayan de Oro City said on Tuesday they will verify a local radio broadcaster's claims about receiving death threats for his expose on illegal gambling. Chief Inspector Salvador Radam, head of the city police intellegence unit, told GMANews.TV that they will give priority to the case of Manny Agustero of dxIF-Bombo Radyo. Radam said it was not the first time that Agustero had been threatened. Radam said the local police had previously assigned security personnel for Agustero. Apart from Agustero, Jigger Jerusalem, a journalist writing for the Mindanao Gold Star Daily, had likewise recently received death threats in his e-mail from someone who uses the email address alfredleron@yahoo.com. Illegal gambling Agustero claimed that the death threats he received last week were the handiwork of people, whom he refused to identify, saying only they could be involved in the illegal operation of lotto outlets in the city. In one of the four death threat calls, the caller told Agustero "he would be the next journalist to fall." Another caller, with a different number, said the broadcaster would be killed "the next day." The last two calls warned that Agustero would be "shot in the head." A police official, who refused to be identified, told GMANews.TV that a series of raids led to the confiscation of six lotto machines of illegal operators. An investigation is being conducted to determine the individuals involved in the illegal operations. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has already called on the government to act swiftly on the matter, as the Philippines has become infamous for attacks on journalists, especially after the Ampatuan massacre last year wherein 32 journalists were slain. "The IFJ demands an immediate police investigation into the threats against Agustero, and reminds President Benigno Aquino of the IFJ's appeal for his government to take credible action to end the culture of impunity in the Philippines," IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said. "Threats like these again highlight the extreme dangers for media workers in the Philippines, especially those who report in the public interest on allegations of corruption and crime," he added. – VVP, GMANews.TV