Police tagged in killing of Negros radioman surrenders

MANILA, Philipines — The policeman tagged in the killing of a radio broadcaster in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, has already surrendered to authorities, the chief of the government’s task force on media security said Friday.

Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTfoMS) Executive Director Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco said patrolman Roger Rubio from the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company turned himself in Wednesday.

“Caving in to mounting pressure due to an intensified manhunt, Mr. Rubio unfortunately an active personnel of the Negros Oriental provincial mobile force company, gave himself up to his acting officer, Police Lt. Col. Judymar de Leon, at around 6 pm in the evening of November 13,” Egco said in a briefing in Malacañang.

Rubio is the alleged gunman in the November 7 ambush of radio broadcaster Dindo Generoso.

Despite the PNP ban on presenting suspects to the media, Rubio was shown to reporters in Malacañang.

“We were just required by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security to present Corporal Rubio, the primary person of interest considering that he was implicated in the evidence we gathered in the course of the investigation,” Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, chief of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said in the same briefing at the Palace.

“The Presidential Task Force on Media Security directed us to bring the living body of the surrendered person para po maimbestigahan din nila (so they can investigate also) personally aside from the investigation being conducted by us,” De Leon added.

Egco said murder charges have been filed against Rubio.

Dumaguete City Police chief Lt. Gen. Wilfredo Alarcon Jr., who was also present during the briefing, said Rubio was implicated in the killing of Generoso after authorities saw text message exchanges between him and Teddy Salaw, one of the suspects earlier arrested by the police.

Authorities could still not confirm the extent of Rubio’s participation in the radioman’s killing.

“So there are a lot of things that we cannot answer yet until after we have concluded the investigations because he just surrendered,” Egco said.

The motive of the killing, Egco said, was either “politics or work-related or both.”

Aside from Rubio, Egco said police now have suspects Salaw, retired police officer Glen Corsame, and Tomasino Aledro in government custody.

Isolated case 

Despite an active policeman being implicated in Generoso’s murder, De Leon said Rubio’s involvement was an isolated case.

“This actually is very isolated, that’s why I requested Usec. Egco to treat this with utmost [care],” he said.

Edited by KGA