Bohol media crackdown?

DAUIS, BOHOL, Philippines — A Boholano radioman claimed that the media in Bohol, who are critical to bad or corrupt government officials, have been subjected to crackdown.

Hard-hitting radio commentator Alan Mangmang of DyTR Radio said that on Wednesday afternoon, a group of Cebu-based personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raided his house at Barangay Songculan of Dauis town in Bohol.

Armed with a search warrant, issued by Judge Estela Alma Singco of Regional Trial Court-branch 12 in Cebu City, the CIDG operatives, led by a certain Superintendent Almendaris, searched Mangmang’s house for alleged possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

The CIDG team however got nothing from their search because the gun that they found from Mangmang was licensed.

But before the team could start the raid, Mangmang’s counsel, lawyer Victor dela Serna arrived and asked the operatives to lay down their firearms at the entrance of the house to avoid suspicion that they might be into something sinister or “planting” firearm against the media practitioner. They obliged with the lawyer’s request.

Mangmang, for his part, told the radio here that the incident was a threat, if not a creepy move, to silence him from his comments and criticisms in the air lanes against corruption and other abuses in government. He however did not identify the people allegedly behind the raid of his house.

Mangmang is the co-anchor of blocktime program “Sumada” over DyTR every afternoon aside from being the anchor with Dela Serna in another once-a-week radio program over DyRD every Saturday.

He is a former barangay chairman of Songculan and an awardee of Best Lupong Tagapamayapa and “Best Barangay Official in the Ten Outstanding Barangay Official of the Year (TOBOY) Awards in 2011 and 2012, respectively. (FREEMAN)