Armed men kidnap Quezon female broadcaster

LUCENA CITY — A female broadcast journalist in Quezon was abducted by unidentified armed in men in Candelaria town on the eve of the mid-term elections, police said Sunday.

Chief Inspector Edcille Canals, Quezon police media relation officer, quoting report from Candelaria police station, identified the victim as Melinda Jennifer Glefonea, single and reporter/anchor of Edge Radio (103.1-FM) based in Candelaria.

Police said Gelofonea, a resident of Lucena City, was seized at gunpoint by two armed men with their faces covered with handkerchief while she was eating in a restaurant in Candelaria town proper at around 4:00 a.m.

The report said the broadcaster was shoved inside a silver Innova, which was used as get-away vehicle. The plate number of the vehicle was covered but the windshield bore a conduction sticker “7858,” said Canals.

The suspects sped off towards the Candelaria bypass road, he said.

Mitch Regondola, a radio co-anchor of Glefonea, said the victim has been regularly receiving “death threats” through text and mobile calls particularly during early morning.

“She’s already used to it. Sometimes, we report it to the police,” Regondola told the Inquirer over the phone.

She described their daily program “Apat Dapat” as “hard hitting.”

“All illegal activities, police scalawags, unscrupulous government officials and lately also election candidates which we feel are not worthy of the positions they are aspiring – they were all fair games to our sharp commentaries,” Regondola said.

She admitted that she is now “feeling nervous” and is inclined to seek protection from authorities.

Ronilo Dagos, chair of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Quezon chapter, condemned the kidnapping.

He called on authorities to search for Glefonea and rescue her from her abductors.

“This is another blow to the cause of press freedom and members of the fourth estate. But we will not be cowed,” Dagos said.

Dagos called on all Quezon media practitioners to take safety precautions on their daily news gathering routines.