Mayor, cop hit rumor on attack on radioman

DAGUPAN CITY—Mayor Belen Fernandez and the city police chief on Thursday denounced insinuations that they were involved in the attack on a radio station manager here.

Fernandez said that  when Orlando “Orly” Navarro, station manager of dwIZ News Radio, was shot and wounded on Tuesday, she was out of town at a meeting of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

“When I heard about it (Navarro’s shooting), I was shocked. And then I saw on TV that my name was being mentioned. But I hope that he’ll be getting very well soon,” Fernandez said.

Navarro was attacked minutes after alighting from a tricycle that took him home to Barangay (village) Pantal around 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police arrested a suspect, Rolando Lim, 46, nine hours later and filed a frustrated murder case against him in the city prosecutor’s office on Wednesday.

Fernandez said some people might  just want to destroy her by dragging her name into Navarro’s shooting. “I’m a God-fearing person. That won’t happen. That’s very impossible,” she said.

“They’ve been saying that [Navarro] is a critic of the administration, but the truth is, I don’t  even have the time to listen to what he is saying because I’m too busy,” she said.

Supt. Christopher Abrahano, city police chief, said insinuations that he and Fernandez were involved in Navarro’s shooting were baseless. “As much as possible, I would not want to glorify these insinuations,” Abrahano said.

“The filing of the case against the suspect was a result of an investigation, backed up by evidence, and in consultation with the victim himself and other witnesses. We have enough evidence to point to the suspect [and conclude] that this is a neighborhood rift,” Abrahano said.

He said  hired guns and getaway vehicles were not  involved.

In earlier interviews, Navarro linked his shooting to his commentaries on the proliferation of illegal drugs in his village.

But on Thursday, Navarro admitted having mentioned Fernandez’s and Abrahano’s names as he was being treated at the emergency room of  University of Pangasinan Medical Center.

“I actually dictated a lot of names to my daughter,” Navarro said.

But he said he had explained this to Abrahano, who visited him on Wednesday to update him on the filing of the case against Lim.

“I told him to make sure that they have enough evidence against the suspect so that we will not be jailing an innocent person. Otherwise, the real culprit will just be laughing out there,” Navarro said, adding that he appreciated the police’s effort to solve the case.

The slug lodged in Navarro’s back was removed on Wednesday after a 45-minute surgery. Abrahano said it was  small  and could have come from a .22-cal. pistol. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon, with Julie Aurelio in Manila