Dead air

Juan “Johnny Walker” Jumalon, 57, died instantly from two gunshots to the head while airing a live radio program from Calamba, Misamis Occidental early Sunday morning. Jumalon had his own radio station, Gold FM 94.7, which he operated nearby his residence in Barangay Don Bernardo Neri.

According to the police, at around 5:35 in the morning the suspect was allowed entry inside the radio station. Pretending he needed to make an on-air appeal, the assassin was caught on CCTV when he instead treacherously fired at his victim. Though reportedly he had a licensed gun, the unsuspecting victim slumped dead on his seat.

Because Jumalon was also live streaming via Facebook his public service radio program, his murder went viral. It graphically captured how the gunman came in with his gun drawn and immediately fired twice. Then the assassin grabbed from the victim’s neck the gold necklace as prize or trophy of his crime.

His radio program went on dead air as he was literally silenced forever by his killer.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killing of Jumalon as it happened “in the same week as the International Day to End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists.”

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) immediately condemned the latest killing of a member of the Philippine media in a comment he posted on his Twitter account a few hours later. The murder of Jumalon was the fourth case of media killing in our country since PBBM took office on June 30 last year.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to immediately activate a special investigation task group (SITG) to solve the murder of Jumalon. The National Bureau of Investigation, which is also part of the PTFoMS, announced the next day that they already started gathering evidence to hasten its resolution of Jumalon’s murder.

While it is still too early to determine the exact motive behind the murder of Jumalon, the PTFoMS presumes anew the killing to be “work related” as a matter of policy.

Less than a year into office of PBBM, the first media killing took place on Sept. 18 last year. Renato Blanco was stabbed to death on a Sunday night in Mabinay, Negros Oriental. Blanco was also a radio broadcaster and worked at Power 102.1 DYRY RFM. The suspect subsequently surrendered to the police.

The third case was that of the killing of Cris Bundoquin in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro on May 31 this year. Bundoquin, a radio block timer at dwXR 101.7 Kalahi News FM, was about to open his rented store in Barangay Sta. Isabel, Calapan City on a Wednesday afternoon when two motorcycle-riding suspects shot him dead.

One of the suspects died when he fell from the motorcycle after it was hit by the car of Bundoquin’s son, who gave chase. The gunman, who was believed to be hurt, managed to escape on foot. His alleged shooter, however, later turned himself in to authorities but maintained his innocence. The PTFoMS identified the suspect as Isabelo Lopez Bautista, who voluntarily submitted himself to the NBI office in Manila but there is no update on this case.

The most celebrated media killing was the ambush slay of the late broadcaster Percy Lapid, who was gunned down on Oct. 3 last year. Lapid was driving his vehicle on the way back home when a tandem of suspects waylaid him before he could enter the guarded village gate of his residence in Las Piñas City. The gunman also later surrendered to police authorities and pointed to former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag as the mastermind. Already charged for this crime, Bantag remains at large.

While there is no pattern in the four cases, it sadly gives us the undeserved perception of the culture of violence in our country. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 86 percent of crimes against journalists happen with impunity. Last year, 363 journalists were imprisoned – a 20 percent increase over 2021.

This is not to mention supposed chilling effects to members of the Philippine media who, to many people, see us as soft targets. Because of the nature of our profession as journalists, most often than not the motive and suspects always point to those we offend or upset in the course of doing our job.

Some of these cases though were not related to our work as journalists. In several cases, the motives of the crimes against the slain media members were personal or had something to do with other non-journalist activities.

Nonetheless, PBBM ordered the police to thoroughly investigate and bring to justice those behind the murder of Jumalon. “Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated in our democracy, and those who threaten the freedom of the press will face the full consequences of their actions,” the President vowed.

The international community here in our country led by the ambassadors of the European Union, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States condemned the killing of Jumalon.

In a strongly worded statement, New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) challenged the Philippine government to do more action than talking about it. Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative, noted the latest media killing “shows that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government isn’t doing enough to protect the press.”

The CPJ recently released its 2023 Global Impunity Index, which ranked the Philippines eighth among countries where killers of journalists go unpunished. Based on CPJ data, there are at least 20 unsolved incidents of Filipino journalists killed because of their jobs in the past decade.

Doing its annual World Press Freedom Index, the Reporters Without Borders released May this year their monitoring of 180 countries, where the Philippines improved to 132 from 142 ranking last year.

But one death is one too many, especially when it ends in dead air.