Justice for slain Manobo chief sought

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—The murder of a tribal leader followed a pattern indicating the continuing impunity with which extrajudicial killings are being committed, according to supporters and friends of the slain tribal figure.

Roy Gallego, a Manobo datu, was gunned down on Oct. 14 in the same fashion as many other victims of extrajudicial killings were eliminated as a result of their beliefs, work or associations.

Calls for an investigation and the arrest of suspects in the killing of Gallego grew louder despite the failure of authorities to make progress on the cases of dozens of other victims of extrajudicial killings.

Gallego, who was to start a new program in a radio station in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, was gunned down by one of two men riding in a motorcycle.

Journalists’ groups in Agusan del Sur said they believed Gallego was killed because of his stinging commentaries against mining and tribal rights violations in previous radio programs.

Gallego, also known as Datu Bagtikan, was on his way to San Francisco when killed. He was to start a new program over radio station Smile FM in the town on Oct. 15, according to Richard Grande, the station’s manager.

Grande said Gallego had made clear the topics he wanted to discuss in the new radio program. They would be about tribal rights, mining and other community issues that Gallego had extensively discussed in previous programs, according to Grande.

Max Tutor, manager of radio station dxSF, said Gallego often delivered feisty commentaries in his radio programs. “He may have made many enemies,” Tutor said. JB R. Deveza, Inquirer Mindanao