DAVAO CITY – Davao City first district Rep. Prospero Nograles has signified his intention to shoulder the arrears in the mortgage on the house of broadcaster Fernando “Batman” Lintuan, who was gunned down last Christmas Eve.
In a statement, Nograles said he would pay Lintuan’s bill with the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) amounting to over P200,000 for a housing unit at the NHA Village in Barangay Ma-a here.
The NHMFC has reportedly forwarded Lintuan’s bill to Nograles, who wanted it settled to ease the burden of the slain broadcaster’s four children.
Lintuan’s wife died of cancer in 2005, thus leaving the four children – the eldest is 20 years old and the youngest, 10 – completely orphaned.
“It was Batman’s dream to give his family a house. Giving Batman’s children the house their father wanted for them could help ease the pain of being completely orphaned at their tender age, hopefully,” Nograles said.
Batman was Lintuan’s moniker, which stood for “Batang Mandaya” since he was a descendant of the Mandaya tribe of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.
In the same statement, Nograles said he also extended financial help for the continued education of Lintuan’s four children, aside from shouldering the funeral expenses.
The statement also cited Nograles’ generosity to the children of other murdered mediamen.