Palace slams attack on radio man

THE GOVERNMENT condemned Saturday a gun attack that wounded a crusading radio commentator and his son in the southern Philippines, the first reported incident of violence against the press under President Duterte’s administration.

Saturnino “Jan” Estanio, known for his tirades against illegal drug and gambling operations in Surigao City, and his 12-year-old son sustained wounds in their bodies after they were attacked by motorcycle riding gunmen outside their home Thursday.

“We condemn this horrific act of violence,” Andanar said in a statement, adding that there was comfort in the fact that the duo survived the shooting.

“Whatever the perpetrators of this crime think that they’ll achieve by an attempt to murder a journalist like Estanio, they have already failed. We assure you we stand by the side of good men. Justice will be served,” Andanar said.

“We need journalists who will fight the same crusade as the government. We need journalists who will not be cowed by threats in order to rid the nation of vices such as illegal drugs and illegal gambling,” he added.

 ‘It’s job-related’

Estanio hosts a hard-hitting public affairs program on local station dxRS. He had earlier told the Inquirer that he believed the attack was job-related and was meant to silence him.

Estanio said that three days prior to the attack, an unnamed person had warned him to go easy on operators of illegal game machines proliferating in Surigao. The racket reportedly earns an estimated P200,000 a week.

He is the first journalist attacked since Duterte assumed office.

The President had earlier received flak over remarks that seemingly justified the killing of media practitioners. But his allies said that he was simply misquoted, and that he only made an observation about corrupt journalists who were acting as mercenaries.