(CMFR/IFEX) – On 30 May 2001 at around 6:00 a.m. local time, a radio announcer was shot several times near his home in Zamboanga City, Philippines. Candelario “Jhun” Cayona of DXLL Radyo Ukay was on his way to work by motorcycle when two unidentified assailants shot him. He died on the spot. Police claim they […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – On 30 May 2001 at around 6:00 a.m. local time, a radio announcer was shot several times near his home in Zamboanga City, Philippines. Candelario “Jhun” Cayona of DXLL Radyo Ukay was on his way to work by motorcycle when two unidentified assailants shot him. He died on the spot.
Police claim they have already identified the suspects in the shooting, and have advised witnesses to come forward to speed up the investigation. According to a 1 June report in Manila newspaper “Philippine Daily Inquirer”, police were able to positively identify one of the suspects in the shooting after one witness came forward.
President of the University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network (UMBN) Guillermo Torres suspects Cayona could have been silenced because of his critical commentaries. DXLL is an affiliate of UMBN.
Cayona’s colleagues in the industry said the highly critical commentaries on his radio programme angered many local politicians as well as the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf.
They claim that the Abu Sayyaf’s spokesperson, Abu Sabaya, threatened Cayona on air. A week before his death, Cayona revealed on the air that an assassin had been following him. He told radio executives that he had been receiving death threats, allegedly from those he had been criticising in his programme. Local newspapers also reported that Cayona received a death threat the day he was killed.
Cayona hosted “Buenas dias Zamboanga” (Good Morning Zamboanga), “Accion Derecho” (Direct Action) and “Textimonya” (Textimony) – programmes which broadcast complaints and conduct informal surveys on current issues. Those who have been the target of his programmes include members of the police and military, local government officials, illegal gamblers and Muslim rebels.
Neither the Abu Sayyaf nor any other group has claimed responsibility for the assassination.
Radio stations in Zamboanga simultaneously had five minutes of prayer after Cayona was killed. Zamboanga Press Club President Noel Erasga also denounced the attack and called on authorities to solve the crime quickly.
Cayona is the third broadcaster killed this year in the Philippines. Earlier this year, Rolando Ureta of DYKR was killed in Aklan province while Muhammad Yusop of RXID was killed in Pagadian City, both in Southern Philippines. Cayona is also the second journalist to be killed in Zamboanga. In November, Olimpio Jalapit of DXPR was also killed there. These three cases remain unsolved.
