DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental – Angered by the brutal killing of
their colleague in the news media industry, tri-media journalists on Wednesday
banded together to condemn the dastardly act and called on authorities to
conduct a thorough and deeper investigation into the case.
News reporters, anchormen, print journalists and other colleagues in
the Dumaguete media united to sound off a common call for justice for the death
of 51-year old Edmund Sestoso, a radio anchor of DYGB-FM Power 91, who did not
survive a day after he was shot by unidentified suspects Monday morning.
In a simultaneous broadcast coverage starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday and
onwards, with DYGB-FM as carrying station and the other radio stations hooking
up, the Dumaguete media took turns in airing their sentiments over the death of
Sestoso.
The simulcast was held on the late Sestoso’s regular daily airtime.
Many of them were huddled in the studio of Power 91 as a sign of
solidarity while others phoned in as well to offer their condolences and voiced
their concerns over what they describe as an affront to press freedom.
“Kami dire sa DYWC (AM), nanghinaot nga ang gobyerno, ang kapolisan ug
ang mga ahensya nga nahitungdan niini unta maningkamot sa pagsolbad sa maong
krimen ug mahatagan ug hustisya ang kamatayon sa atong kauban sa buhat (We at
DYWC-AM are hoping that government, the police and other agencies involved will
endeavor to solve the said crime and to give justice to the death of our
colleague in the industry),” said Fr. Ramonito Maata, the station manager of
DYWC-AM, operated by the Diocese of Dumaguete.
Maata said that along with the sentiments of the Catholic Church here,
which has issued a statement on the death of Sestoso and that of Fr. Mark Y.
Ventura of Tuguegarao who was gunned down by unidentified perpetrators shortly
after the priest had said mass, “we offer our sincere condolences to the family
of the late Edmund Sestoso and prayers for the eternal repose of his soul.”
For his part, veteran journalist Ely Dejaresco, owner/manager of
DYEM-FM and the weekly Negros Chronicle, called on the media to stop discussing
politics and instead cover other areas in the news.
“As a matter of fact, in journalism, politics is just one percent of
the things that can be talked about in the media,” he said.
Although the police have not come up yet with a conclusion as to the
motive behind Sestoso’s death, they are considering his profession as a radio
personality and politics as possibly the reason that he was killed.
But many media practitioners in Dumaguete are saying they believe
Sestoso’s death was “job-related.”
Sestoso was a block-timer program anchor for Gov. Roel Degamo for years
prior to his hiring a year ago as Tug-anan anchor.
An irate and emotional block-timer, Rex Santos of DYRM-AM, could not
help but shed tears as he angrily challenged no one in particular to come and
get him instead, as he lambasted those who perpetrated the killing of Sestoso.
For Roy Bustillo of CNN-Philippines, he noted that what happened to
Sestoso was an unusual happening in Dumaguete City, because “this kind of
happening is usually common like in Mindanao or Luzon”.
“For Dumaguete being the City of Gentle People, nahitabo ni atol sa gun
ban (it happened during the gun ban) and the election is coming, and yet this
is what happened to our colleague, Edmund,” Bustillo stressed.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), through
its national director Jose Jaime Espina, and the Diocese of Dumaguete headed by
Bishop Julito Cortes and through its spokesperson, Fr. Nathaniel Gomez, have
also issued separate statements condemning the death of Sestoso and seeking
justice for his death.
Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo of Dumaguete City also issued a statement
earlier saying that he is hoping that the police and other investigating
agencies will conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of Sestoso.
Dumaguete media members and former media practitioners agree that they
will not allow the death of Sestoso to “silence them” in their quest for the
truth and are not cowed by threats of politicians or from anybody who may be
the subject of news reports in their daily coverage. (PNA/By Mary Judaline Partlow/re-posted by: Becky D. de Asis-The Redline News)
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