Brains eyed in attack on photojournalist

MANILA, Philippines — Police have identified the likely mastermind in the ambush in Quezon City on Thursday that left a photojournalist and three others wounded.

Quezon City Police District director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre, who has been supervising the probe on the shooting of Remate online’s Joshua Abiad, said there are indications that the photojournalist was the target of the gunmen and not his companions.

Torre said police investigators have obtained the name of the person who ordered the attack on Abiad in Barangay Masambong.

“May idea kami kung sino ang possible,” he said in an interview with dzBB radio.

Torre did not name the suspected mastermind so as not to jeopardize their ongoing probe.

He added that the attack may be personal in nature.

Based on the pieces of evidence probers have gathered, including footage from closed-circuit television cameras, Torre said around five to six people took part in the shooting.

He said the attack on Abiad is like a teleserye, based on what they have gathered so far, adding they are set to invite for questioning several personalities suspected to be involved in the shooting.

He urged the people who took part in the ambush to come clean, noting they have the goods to file criminal charges against them.

Meanwhile, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Philippine government to determine if the attack on Abiad was related to his reporting and immediately bring the perpetrators to justice.

It noted that attacks against journalists in the country continue under the current administration, citing the killing of broadcasters Percy Lapid and Renato Blanco last year. — Janvic Mateo