PTFoMS wants creation of task force to probe killing of broadcaster in MisOcc

Juan Jumalon, 43, popularly known as DJ Jonny Walker, was on board on his popular Sunday program “Pa-hapyod sa Kabuntagon” when a lone gunman barged into the radio station right in the victim’s own home and killed him at 5:30 am on Sunday, November 5, 2023. Screengrab image

MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) is calling for the creation of a special investigation task group (SITG) to probe the assassination of radio station owner and broadcaster Juan Jumalon in Misamis Occidental.

Based on police reports, Jumalon was the station manager of Gold FM 94.7, who was shot twice by an unknown gunman inside his radio booth in Calamba town around 5:35 a.m. His assassination was captured in a video clip that went viral on social media Sunday morning.

In response, PTFoMS executive director Paul Gutierrez has called on the Philippine National Police to activate an SITG to investigate and track the suspect behind Jumalon’s assassination.

“Even as we extend our sympathy to the victim’s family and friends over this dastardly attack, we also call on the Negros Occidental Police Office to immediately constitute its SITG to investigate this incident and apprehend the suspect and others possibly involved in the interest of justice,” Gutierrez said in a statement on Sunday.

“The creation of an SITG on incidents like this is among the agreed protocols among the agencies within the PTFoMS,” he added.

Work-related motive

Aside from the formation of an SITG, Gutierrez said he also alerted the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to help with the investigation of the case, which he claimed may have had a connection with Jumalon’s job as a radio broadcaster.

“While the motive is yet to be determined, we consider this incident as ‘work-related’ for the moment,” he said.

“We also call on our colleagues in the media and the public not to resort to any speculation or make baseless accusations that can only distract our investigators on the true motive for the attack on Jamalon. Instead, we call on them to provide relevant and factual information that can hasten the resolution of this incident,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Executive Vice President Carlos Isagani Zarate, who was also a former journalist, decries justice for the victim’s death and other extrajudicial killings (EJK).

“This tragic act is clearly spawned by the ‘kill, kill, kill’ mentality that was enabled and weaponized on a grand scale in the past,” Zarate said in a separate statement.

“As we demand swift justice for Jumalon and the other EJK victims, we also reiterate the call for accountability of the enablers of these condemnable bloody attacks against our people,” he added.