Negros Occidental broadcaster’s house strafed by motorcycle-riding men

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Motorcycle-riding men strafed the house of a radio broadcaster in Talisay, Negros Occidental on Wednesday night.

Rey Siason, an anchorman of 104.7 Muews FM in Talisay City, was not at his house in Barangay 12-A when the incident occurred.

No one was reported hurt, but the shooting caused panic among Siason’s family members, particularly his 16-year-old daughter. 

Responding police officers said the wall on a room and balcony on the second floor of Siason’s house bore bullet holes. Bullet shells for a caliber .45 pistol were recovered at the scene.

The night before the incident, Bambi Yngson, a colleague of Siason, was almost hit by a motorcycle with two unidentified riders. 

The Negros Press Club (NPC) and National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP)-Negros Occidental chapter issued separate statements condemning the incident.

“We called on authorities to swiftly investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice,” Marchel Espina, NUJP-Negros Occidental chapter president, said.

NPC president Renato Duran said the strafing was a “despicable act and an affront to members of the fourth estate.”

“We are calling on authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to the bar of justice,” Duran said.

Last Feb.16, Ranie Azue, also an anchorman of Muews FM, was beaten up outside the radio station.

Radio broadcaster Edmund Sestoso died a day after he was shot by motorcycle-riding men in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental on April 30.  – With Emmanuel Tupas