An influential local politician is the main suspect in the murder of a journalist in the northern Philippines, police said yesterday, amid mounting anger over a new rash of press killings.
Police said they had recommended murder charges against Pacifico Velasco, newly elected vice mayor of Bacarra town, and one of his bodyguards for the killing of radio broadcaster Jovelito Agustin last week.
“We have a tracking team that is looking for his location so when the warrant is issued, things will be easier for us,” said Superintendent Bienvenido Rayco, head of a task force probing the murder.
However, he warned that the case would have to go through a prolonged legal process before any arrest.
Rayco said eyewitnesses and evidence showed that a nephew-bodyguard of Velasco shot Agustin dead while he was riding home on his motorcycle on Tuesday last week.
Agustin was one of three journalists killed in this country in one week, affirming the Philippines’ status as one of the most dangerous places for journalists.
Last week, two other journalists known as outspoken critics of corrupt local officials were shot dead in separate attacks.
The new rash of killings have been widely condemned, with the US Department of State on Monday urging Philippine authorities to quickly bring those responsible to justice.
Media watchdog IPI on Monday also called for an end to killers’ impunity in the Philippines and more action from the newly elected government.
“This continued targeting of journalists is linked to the impunity that the killers enjoy in the country,” IPI director David Dadge said in a statement.
“If president-elect Benigno Aquino wishes to stamp out corruption as he promised during his election, the Philippines needs a fully functioning media, a media that is not constantly under threat of attack,” he added.
Dadge urged Aquino and the new government “to tackle the issue of impunity in the murder of these journalists and those slain in recent years and prosecute those responsible.”
Agustin had been a fierce critic of Velasco, a former mayor of Bacarra.
Velasco’s men are also suspected of having fired at Agustin’s house on May 7, just before the national elections.
Separate charges of attempted murder were also sought against Velasco and his aides over that incident, Rayco said.
Politicians and other powerful government figures are often blamed for the killings of journalists in this country.
Last year alone, 38 journalists were killed there, according to IPI.
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