CABANATUAN CITY: Despite a prevailing gun ban, a gunman shot and killed a local broadcaster on Thursday morning, bringing to 15 the number of journalists killed under the administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

P/chief Supt. Ely Depra identified the victim as Julius Cauzo, 51, an anchorman of radio station DWJJ and a resident of Brgy. Aduas Norte, Cabanatuan City. The victim, it was also learned, was a native of Brgy. Sibul in Talavera, Nueva Ecija province.

Depra said that Cauzo was shot thrice in the back by a motorcycle-riding man along Flowerlane St. in Brgy. Aduas Centro. The victim was on his way to his morning program at the radio station.

The police official said that the victim was just a few meters away from the station when the gunman
on board a black Honda XRM motorcycle shot him at close range.

Police said that Cauzo was rushed to the Good Samaritan Hospital by a team of responding policemen and employees of Cabanatuan Electric Corp. but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Cauzo was the executive vice president of the Nueva Ecija Press Club Inc. and one of the anchormen of the station owned by Mayor Jay Vergara of Cabanatuan City.

Vergara, President Aquino’s classmate and party-mate, hosts the radio program Si Jay sa double J. The radio commentary is also carried live by a local cable network.

On the other hand, Cauzo hosted his own daily program Pag-usapan Natin.

Plebiscite
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the local police have imposed a gun ban in the Cabanatuan city from November 5 to December 11 in time for the scheduled plebiscite on the elevation of it into a highly urbanized city (HUC) on December 1.

The poll body promulgated Resolution 9550 recently, which sets the date for the plebiscite.
According to sources, Vergara and Cauzo were in favor of the city upgrade and have been campaigning for a “Yes to HUC” vote on their respective programs at DWJJ.

If the city voted in favor of the upgrade, more than 200,000 voters from Cabanatuan will no longer be casting their votes for provincial positions from governor down.

This will practically deprive incumbent Gov. Aurelio “Oyie” Umali half of the votes in the province’s third District, his lawmaker wife Cherry’s bailiwick.

Because of this, the Umalis and their supporters are staunchly against the transformation of Cabanatuan to a HUC.

Cabanatuan is the biggest city in the province in terms of population. It has been a component city of the province since 1950.

Under the Local Government Code, an HUC status can be achieved by a city that has a population of at least 200,000 and revenues of at least P50 million.

Rivalry
Cauzo’s colleagues interviewed by The Manila Times said that Cauzo’s firm stand in favor of the “Yes” votes had drawn him into a bitter word war with broadcasters from the rival local TV station TV 48, which campaigns for a “NO” vote espoused by the camp of Umali.

Umali got some 60,000 votes in Cabanatuan City during the 2010 elections.

Presently, the city has a population of nearly 260,000 based on the 2007 census of the National Statistics Office. It also has an annual regular income of P235 million, which makes it eligible for being an HUC.

Umali is a former Lakas regional leader who joined the ruling Liberal Party chaired by Aquino.

Unique
In Malacañang, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda denounced the killing and all acts of violence against media personalities.

“But in our country there’s a unique situation where a lot of the killings have been either personal or work-related. And in every instance, we try to sift through the motivations of each killing and some of them are work-related, some of them are personal,” he said.

Lacierda also admitted that the Aquino administration has yet to resolve cases on media killings. So far, he said that only the case of environmentalist Dr. Gerry Ortega of Palawan province has been brought to court.

“Nasampahan na po ‘yan, ang problema tinutugis po natin ngayon itong mga salarin at kailangan po silang tugisin [The case has been filed but the problem is that the suspects are still at large and we need to go after them],” he stressed.

“In fact, [Justice] Secretary Leila de Lima heightened the tracker teams. [She], in fact, gave an order to ensure that these fugitives from the law shall be apprehended,” he added.

Flourished
In its previous statement, the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) lamented that, “statistically,” there were more mediamen killed during Mr. Aquino’s first two years in office than former president and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga province’s first two years.

“Those journalists killed under Aquino surpassed those registered during the incumbency of his mother, Corazon, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Arroyo administrations in their respective first two and a half years,” the NPC statement said.

Besides Cauzo and Ortega, those killed during the time of Aquino include Jose Daguio in Kalinga province (July 3, 2010); Miguel Belen of DWEB FM in Camarines Sur (July 9, 2010); Edilberto Cruz of Salida tabloid in Nueva Ecija province (August 1, 2010); Edison Falmeniana Sr. of Mindanao Inquirer in Zamboanga del Sur province (December 10, 2010); Cirilo Gallardo of DWWW FM in Abra province (February 1, 2011); Len Flores Somera of DzME in Manila (March 24, 2011); Romeo Olea of DWEB-FM in Bicol Region (June 13, 2011); Neil Aranga Jimena of dyRP in Iloilo City and dyAG in Cadiz City (August 22, 2011); Datu Roy Quijada Gallego, a radio commentator in Caraga Region (October 14, 2011); and Alfredo “dodong” Velarde Jr. of Brigada News in Gen. Santos City (November 11, 2011).

On the other hand, in the first two years of Mrs. Arroyo, there were only five mediamen killed. They were Mohammad Yusoph of Radio DXID Pagadian City (February 23, 2001); Joy Mortel of Mindoro Guardian (May 31, 2001); Candelario Cayona of Radio DXLL in Zamboanga City (May 30, 2001); Edgar Damalerio of Zamboanga Scribe and DXKP Radio also in Pagadian City (May 13, 2002); and Rhode Sonny Esguerra Alcantara of Quo Vadis San Pablo and Kokus in San Pablo, Laguna (August 22, 2002).

With a report From Catherine S. Valente