Three witnesses identified a suspect in the killing of Misamis Occidental radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon, also known as DJ Johnny Walker.
The suspect, Misamis Occidental police director Col. Dwight Monato said, was reportedly a gun-for-hire in the province.
“We already have the name and background of one of the three possible suspects. This is a good starting point in any investigation,” Monato said.
On Wednesday, the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Johnny Walker submitted the complaint for murder and theft against one of Jumalon’s three attackers and released a computer-generated sketch of the suspect’s face.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security handed over Speaker Martin Romualdez’s P250,000 worth of assistance to the family of the slain broadcaster.
“After suddenly losing a breadwinner, it’s really difficult for a family to pick up the pieces and carry on with their lives,” Romualdez said.
“No matter what the motive is behind this killing, the Philippine media lost another one of its members, and we don’t want this to keep on happening. We in Congress will take concrete steps to ensure that every member of the fourth estate is protected from these senseless killings. They must not live in fear just because of their chosen profession,” he added.
The 57-year-old Jumalon was laid to rest in Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte on Sunday.
PTFoMS executive director Paul Gutierrez visited the wake in Calamba town on Saturday. He also held separate meetings with agents from the National Bureau of Investigation and the regional office of the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detection Management.
“More than the expression of sympathy and the granting of financial support, what we are after here is justice for the victim through the apprehension of the identified suspect and his confederates leading to the unmasking of the mastermind, if there is any,” Gutierrez said.
“This is the instruction of the President and I am glad to note that our law enforcement bodies are exerting their efforts to give justice to the Jumalons,” he added.
