ANGELES CITY — The Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) created to probe the murder of veteran reporter Jesus “Jess” Malabanan said the motive behind his killing is definitely not work-related.
This was announced by Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) Executive Director Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco last Monday during a case conference.
According to PCol Jonathan A Cabal, Deputy Regional Director for Operations of PNP’s Police Regional Office 8 (PRO 8), the biggest possible motive for the killing was a dispute over a very large tract of land in Calbayog, based on the information culled from affidavits duly subscribed by various witnesses.
“We are on the right track. It is safe to say that the killing is not work-related,” Cabal said during the conference. The PNP is one of the partner-agencies that make up the Presidential Task Force.
The SITG found out that Malabanan led and represented a group of claimants over the property and had protested the recent sale of a portion thereof to a local buyer. There was even a heated argument between the parties during a previous meeting with barangay officials.
Egco commended the SITG for the preliminary report on the incident and said that he has “complete trust and confidence” in the men and women from PRO 8 that they will “find and arrest” the killers of Malabanan.
The palace official said that the SITG’s revelation is completely in line with the information he received earlier from friends and colleagues of Malabanan that the incident may not be related to his work as a reporter since the victim did not have any known enemies in Pampanga where he was based.
Egco recalled that sometime in April and May 2019, Malabanan sought his help by endorsing him to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to search a “map” of land, presumably the one which is the subject of the dispute. Likewise, Malabanan asked Egco for the number of Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Acosta.
When asked about the claim of some sectors that the killing might be in connection with the victim’s work on the drug war years ago, Cabal said that the SITG has already coordinated with the PNP in Angeles City and Pampanga and learned that Malabanan has a very good relationship with the police. He pointed out that Malabanan was part of PNP’s Advisory Council, hence, he was actually “one” with the president’s campaign against illegal drugs.
The SITG also revealed that they already have a number of persons of interest (POIs) and that the investigation is presently on-going 24/7.
Malabanan, a correspondent for various other news outfits, was shot dead by motorcycle “riding-in-tandem” gunmen inside his small store in Calbayog City last December 8, 2021 in the evening. A single “fired cartridge” was recovered from the crime scene.
Egco, a veteran journalist himself, was a close friend of the deceased. He said that the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be brought to justice with the tireless work from the PNP-SITG Malabanan. Justice to Malabanan will be justice for the entire country.
Egco said the SITG is painstakingly exhausting all possible angles to ascertain the identity of the assailants and those people behind it.
The PTFoMS official also promised that any witness to the incident will be fully protected and may be referred to the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice.
Earlier, PRO 8 Regional Director PBGen Rommel Bernardo Cabagnot directed the SITG to give priority to the case and vowed that this “dastardly act will not go unpunished.”
The case conference was attended by the following police officers from PRO 8, namely: PCOL Peter U Limbauan, SPPO-SITG Commander, PLT Herbert Mendoza, CIDG 8, Asst. SITG Comdr., PLT Aileen G Velarde, SPPO – Spokepeson, PCPT Michael Justie F. Baldugo, RCLO 8, Legal Officer, PLTCOL Norman D Ala, SPPO, C,PIMU, PLT Nesmark Dave J. Julian, PO Crime, PMAJ Ralph O Bangoy, RID Samar, PLTCOL Teodolfo C Manatad III – SPPO COP Calbayog City, PCMS Ladislao Z Cabello – Recorder, and PSSG Emelito Bernales – IOC, Investigator on Case.
Created by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, it is the mandate of the PTFoMS to safeguard press freedom by protecting the life, liberty and security of our media workers.
In 2021, with a dedicated mandate to resolve media killings in the country, the PTFoMS recorded the 51st case of media killing that resulted in a guilty verdict, bringing to 68 the total number of media killers that were convicted by our courts.
