Radio broadcaster in critical condition after gun attack in Dumaguete

DUMAGUETE CITY — A radio broadcaster was in critical condition after he was shot by an unknown gunman here on Monday.

The incident alarmed local journalists since the attempt on the life of Edmund Sestoso appears to be job-related.

Sestoso hosts a popular morning radio show “Tug-anan sa Power 91” over DZGB-FM in Dumaguete. He was also the former chair of the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP)-Negros Oriental.

Police said Sestoso was on his way home to Barangay Daro when the attack happened around 10 a.m.

He was reportedly disembarking from a tricycle and paying his fare when the gunman appeared from behind the driver and shot the broadcaster several times.

Sestoso suffered two gunshot wounds in the chest, another in the leg, and one in the stomach. The gunman fled on a black motorcycle.

A statement from the NUJP said that a source who asked not to be identified told the group that the gunman also shot the tires of a pedicab that was supposed to take Sestoso to a hospital.

“Good Samaritans had to wait for another vehicle to take the wounded radioman to a health facility, where he was expected to undergo emergency surgery,” the NUJP said. /ee