Group, radio station link grenade attack to drugs

A Catanduanes-based anticorruption watchdog group condemned the grenade attack on March 18, which was believed aimed at an anchor of Zagitsit News FM, a Legazpi City-based radio station.

The grenade blast destroyed the engine of the pickup owned by the station parked on a road at Our Lady’s Village Subdivision in Barangay Bitano, Legazpi City.

Fragments of the grenade have been recovered and an investigation is ongoing, according to Senior Supt. Nilo Berdin, Legazpi City police chief.

Marlon Suplig, head of Catanduanes Crusaders Against Illegal Drugs and Corruption Inc. and a colleague of Zagitsit anchor
Hermogenes Alegre, denounced the attack.

Harassment

Suplig said in a statement that his group “condemns this style of harassment by politicians of critical media.”

While police have not established a motive yet, the attack was believed to be targeting Alegre because of his critical commentaries on drugs, particularly the mega “shabu” (crystal meth) lab case discovered in Catanduanes, and an alleged anomaly involving the storage and delivery by the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative Inc. of fuel belonging to a private corporation owned by a top Catanduanes official.

Alegre also linked some officials of Catanduanes to the murder of journalist Larry Que.

Earlier, Alegre said he considered the grenade attack a “harassment to stop us from exposing irregularities.”

It was the third attack on his station, Alegre said.

Alegre was in the news recently after his imitation of President Duterte’s voice was mistaken to be the real Mr. Duterte as speaking and was transcribed by Palace employees and sent to reporters covering Malacañang.

During the impersonation, Alegre, who was also correspondent of radio network dzRH in the Bicol region, expressed full support for the senatorial candidacy of Christopher “Bong” Go, Mr. Duterte’s most trusted aide. —With a report from Mar S. Arguelles