Reward for arrest of Jumalon’s killers now at P3.7 million

Juan “DJ Johnny Walker” Jumalon —FACEBOOK PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The reward for the arrest of broadcaster Juan Jumalon’s killer has increased to P3.7 million, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said Monday.

PTFoMS Usec. Paul Gutierrez said this is because the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) contributed P100,000 to the bounty on November 11.

“Saturday ko lang ito nalaman, additional reward ng PAOCC na P100,000. Si PD (Provincial Director) Col. Dwight Monato nagsabi sa akin,” Gutierrez told INQUIRER.net in a Viber message on Monday.

(I only found out on Saturday that PAOCC’s additional reward of P100,000. PD (Provincial Director) Col. Dwight Monato told me.)

PTFoMS was the first to raise the reward money of P100,000 for any information that may lead to the arrest of Jumalon’s killers. The provincial government of Misamis Occidental then chipped in P500,000 to the pot.

The provincial government of Misamis Occidental also offered P3 million to law enforcers who arrested Jumalon’s assailants.

The 57-year-old radioman was gunned down while doing a live broadcast over Misamis Occidental’s Gold FM 94.7 in Calamba town on November 5.

“We call upon the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies by providing any relevant information that could lead to the swift arrest of the suspects,” PTFoMS said in a statement Monday.

“The reward money serves as a testament to the seriousness with which authorities are treating this case, and we encourage individuals with information to come forward and contribute to the pursuit of justice,” it added.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) earlier said murder and theft complaints were filed against three suspects in the killing of Jumalon. But only one of the three was named in the complaints sheet, as the two others were only identified as “John Does.”

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the complaints were filed before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Misamis Occidental on November 8.

In a phone interview on Monday, Gutierrez told INQUIRER.net that the identified individual in the complaints is the same person in a suspect’s PNP-released computerized facial sketch.

“May record na po siya, may pangalan na tayo we cannot reveal hangga’t di naaresto ang isa na ‘yan. ‘Yung nasa sketch na ‘yung may pangalan na,” he said.

(He already has a record; we already have a name, but we cannot reveal it until that one is arrested. The one in the sketch already has a name.)

Based on the accompanying information of the sketch, the man – who served as a lookout during the shooting incident – is described as having a medium build, 5’5″ to 5’6″ tall, and possibly weighing around 70 kilograms. He was also caught on CCTV wearing a red cap, green shirt, and black shorts.

National Union of Journalists in the Philippines chair Jonathan De Santos said Jumalon was the 199th journalist killed since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986 and the fourth under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.