SCENE OF THE CRIME In this composite photo, a candle is lit on the spot in Barangay Balagtas in Batangas City where former INQUIRER correspondent Melinda “Mei” Magsino was felled with a single bullet to her head on Monday. The site is just a few meters from her apartment. RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines–Regional Director Constantino Joson of NBI-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) said the bureau had started its own investigation into the murder of former Inquirer correspondent Melinda “Mei” Magsino on orders of NBI Director Virgilio Mendez and Deputy Director Eduardo Villarta even without a formal complaint from the family.
Joson said the investigation was looking at all possible angles, including a “love triangle.”
The family of Magsino said she was killed because of her exposés on the alleged irregularities in the local government of Bauan, Batangas province, the National Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday.
Magsino, 40, was shot dead by a male assailant at high noon on Monday, just a few meters away from the two-floor apartment she shared with partner Benjie Reyes in Barangay (village) Balagtas. Neighbors said Magsino and Reyes, a chiropractor, had been staying in the apartment for about two years.
Among those whom the police have questioned was Arnold Lubis, Magsino’s husband. Magsino’s cousin, Christine Magsino, earlier told the Inquirer that the couple were seeking an annulment. Magsino did not have a child.
But a police investigator, who refused to be named for lack of authority to speak to a reporter, doubted Lubis’ motive as “he seemed to have already moved on (from the failed relationship).”
“Their last contact was way back in 2008,” the investigator said. The police said Lubis was not tagged a suspect in the killing.
Full access for NBI
Joson told the Inquirer that Magsino’s relatives had provided the bureau good leads on the possible motive of the killing, including a recording of the shooting that could identify the gunman.
He said the family had given the NBI access to Magsino’s cell phone and social media accounts.
“We are now in the process of gathering and then analyzing the evidence provided by the family,” Joson said.
The NBI regional director added that the family had given the bureau names of possible suspects.
He said the personalities mentioned by the family included local politicians. “We will give them a chance to explain their side [in the spirit of] fair play.”
Malacañang on Tuesday condemned the killing of Magsino, and hailed her as a “crusading journalist while she worked previously as a correspondent” of this newspaper.
Palace coordinating with PNP
In a brief statement, Malacañang said: “Task Force Usig of the Philippine National Police is coordinating intensive police operations to pursue her assailants and bring the perpetrators to the bar of justice.”
Vice President Jejomar Binay urged concerned authorities to ensure that the perpetrators and the brains behind the murder be immediately brought to justice.
“The killing of Melinda Magsino is a tragedy to her family and to our democracy. Ms. Magsino was a local journalist who also used social media to exercise her freedom of expression and her civic duty. For this she was silenced,” Binay said in a statement.
Binay said the safety of journalists should always be guaranteed. “They should remain free from harassment and acts of violence.”
He added that Magsino had feared that she would become just another statistic. “Let us make sure that she does not become another grim reminder of the continued culture of impunity in the country,” the Vice President said.
All angles
The Philippine National Police is considering all angles.
“Whether it is connected with her past work as a member of the media, her present work, or personal reasons and her present relationships, we are all looking into that,” PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Tuesday.
A special investigation task group composed of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Batangas police has been formed to investigate Magsino’s death.
Supt. Manuel Castillo, Batangas City police chief, said Magsino’s activities on Facebook might provide the police with leads.
Investigators were also looking for two more persons, a female and a male, against whom Magsino had filed a complaint. The names of the two were withheld.
According to Castillo, Magsino on March 19 filed a report in the city police station against the two persons, who reportedly owed her some P81,000. The blotter revealed that the woman had refused to pay Magsino and had gone instead to Magsino’s house with a male companion, who carried a gun.
“We’re still looking for them (for questioning),”Castillo said.
The police are having a hard time identifying people who may have wanted to harm Magsino. “She just had too many enemies, even politicians in Bauan (town) and Batangas City,” the police investigator said.
Magsino, who earned a reputation as a hard-hitting and feisty reporter in Batangas, exposed corruption and other illegal activities that involved government officials. After her stint in print media, she created public groups on Facebook that became her platform to air her criticisms.
“Taga-Bauan, Batangas, Ka Kung … (You are from Bauan, Batangas, if …),” which has 12,683 members, served as a forum that openly discussed corruption and violence in Bauan, while “Barako Batangas,” with 26,128 members, discussed issues all over the province. (Barako connotes manliness as it broadly refers to a male animal kept for breeding. But it has references to the coffee known as kapeng barako, a strong coffee that has become synonymous with Batangas province).
FB messages
Asked where the investigation was leading, Castillo said: “I think the one in Facebook,” adding that the police were not ruling out other angles.
Magsino’s public posts on the days leading to her killing interested the police. In some of her most recent posts, Magsino said she was receiving obscene messages and photos from a municipal councilor of Bauan.
The messages reportedly came from Facebook accounts under the names Kelvin Gimeno, Panganiban Jeff and Paradise Andrew.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Gimeno, a councilor of Bauan, said he was surprised and “bothered” that he was being dragged into Magsino’s killing. Gimeno said the police questioned him on Tuesday morning in relation to the incident.
“I never knew who she was. I was busy teaching (a summer music class) these past days and all of a sudden I was told that someone was killed and that I’m being dragged into it,” he said. Gimeno also denied owning the Facebook accounts mentioned in Magsino’s posts.
‘We ignored her’
Bauan Mayor Ryanh Dolor said he was not surprised that his name came up in the investigation. Hours before Magsino was killed, she posted a Facebook message that apparently criticized the Dolors.
“Perhaps because we’re the new ones (being targeted), but she also criticized others,” Dolor said, alluding to those with a motive to kill Magsino.
He said he, too, never met Magsino in person but heard about her “tirades” online. “We just simply ignored her,” he said.–With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada, Niña P. Calleja and Julie M. Aurelio
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