Court issues arrest order on ex-jail chief over broadcaster’s murder
A TRIAL court in Muntinlupa City has ordered the arrest of former Bureau of Corrections (BuCoR) director Gerald Q. Bantag over the killing of radio broadcaster Percival C. Mabasa.
In an arrest warrant dated April 12, Presiding Judge Gener M. Gito said the crime of murder was non-bailable.
Mr. Bantag’s former deputy was also cited in the arrest order.
The magistrate directed arresting officers to wear at least one body camera and another recording device during execution of the warrant following rules issued by the Supreme Court.
Last month, government prosecutors indicted the ex-prison chief, his deputy, the self-confessed gunman and a former inmate of the national penitentiary after they found probable cause to charge them with the murder.
Mr. Bantag had denied his involvement in the murder, saying he had nothing to gain from it.
Two gunmen on a motorcycle shot the 63-year-old radio journalist on his way home in Las Piñas City on the evening of Oct. 3.
Police filed a murder complaint against Mr. Bantag in November for allegedly ordering the murder of Mr. Mabasa and the supposed middleman in the incident.
Global watchdog Reporters Without Borders has said at least 187 journalists have been killed in the past 35 years in the Philippines, including 32 killed in a single incident in 2009.
The Philippines has accepted 200 recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council, including investigation on extralegal killings and protecting journalists. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
