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Saturday, April 20, 2007
2 reporters ambushed in Lucena; one wounded
* Police task force probes slay of Nueva Ecija journalist
MANILA -- A correspondent of a Manila-based newspaper was hurt when unidentified men fired at him and another journalist in Lucena City on Thursday.
Police said Delfin Mallari Jr. of the Philippine Daily Inquirer was taken to a hospital for a bullet wound on the left side of his body.
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The slug was removed and Mallari, who is also a broadcaster, declared out of danger.
Mallari had facilitated an interview for a number of journalists with Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) spokesman Gregorio Rosal who is believed hiding in Southern Tagalog.
Mallari and Johnny Glorioso of television network ABS-CBN were aboard a car when gunmen on a motorcycle fired at them at around 7:40 a.m.
Police said the two were on their way to the radio station where they were also working. A bullet hit Mallari while Glorioso was unscathed.
Glorioso believed that the attack was work-related and politically motivated. He refused to elaborate and said policemen were still investigating the case.
Malacañang described as "despicable" the successive attacks on members of the media, the latest of which was the ambush on Mallari and Glorioso.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered authorities in Lucena "to carry out a swift and thorough investigation" of the incident.
The Palace also condemned the murder of government radio station Radyo ng Bayan-Philippine Broadcasting Network Nueva Ecija reporter Carmelo Mark Palacios, whose body was found in Barangay Mapald in Sta. Rosa in Nueva Ecija.
Initial forensic investigations showed that Palacios, whose body was found Wednesday, suffered a broken jaw after being hit with a hard object and was shot.
Police said he could have been killed elsewhere and later dumped in Sta. Rosa town.
The PNP Task Force Usig, meanwhile, stepped into the investigation on the killing of Palacios.
On orders of Police Chief Oscar Calderon, PNP Task Force Usig Chief Geary Barias mobilized the regional Task Force Usig and police investigating units in Central Luzon to look into the circumstances behind the death of Palacios.
Palacios is a resident of nearby Guimba town and is an active member of the Nueva Ecija Press Club.
The Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office under Senior Superintendent Allen Bantolois will be leading the investigation to be assisted by the Regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Office, Regional Crime Laboratory, Regional Intelligence Office, and Sta. Rosa Municipal Police Station, Barias said.
He said investigators have taken the testimonies of several witnesses who claimed to have noticed an unknown type of motor vehicle maneuvering along the highway near the crime scene the night before Palacios' body was found.
Barias said investigators are looking at all possible angles to establish the probable motive of the murder. Scene of Crime Operations (Soco) forensic investigators noted that the victim still had a small amount of cash inside a coin purse but his mobile phone was missing. (VR/JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (April 20, 2007 issue)
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