Street Thugs, Gov't Employee Charged with Murder of Ilocos Norte Journalist

Even if two police officers cannot agree as to the nature of the killing of an Ilocos Norte-based radio journalist, the Philippine National Police (PNP) now considers the case closed with the filing of murder against four suspects.

BY ACE ALEGRE
Northern Dispatch
Reposted by Bulatlat

LAOAG CITY— Is this a case of two police officers contradicting each other? One claims that the murder of an Ilocos Norte-based radio journalist was neither politically motivated nor work-related, but another says that it could be work-related.

Street thugs and a government employee are now suspects in the December 20, 2006 murder of Andres “Andy” Acosta, 46, of the DZJC Aksyon Radyo, an affiliate network of the Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC).

Ilocos Norte Police Director Sr. Supt. Roman Felix said that murder cases were filed against Joseph Caldazo, an employee of the Department of Agriculture, Nemesio Agbanaoag, Adulf Calzado and Gilbert Tarubac who ganged up on Acosta.

The murder case against the four suspects filed on December 29, 2006 has already been raffled last January 4 to Fiscal Rosemarie Ramos. Batac town police station chief Supt. Ben Rayco said that she found probable cause in the murder.

Rayco said that as far as the Philippine National Police (PNP) is concerned, the case is now closed. 

Acosta was on his way home to Batac town after a Christmas party in Laoag City (487 kilometers from Manila). While riding his motorcycle, he was stabbed. He still managed, however, to bring himself to the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital also in Batac where he died.

Except for Joseph Calzado, the three other suspects are said to be street thugs. Rayco said that the suspects were having a drinking spree at the house of Calzado located just along the national highway in Dariwdiw, Batac when the motorcycle-riding Acosta passed by.

Felix said that Acosta's slay was neither politically motivated nor work-related, contrary to earlier claims that the radio journalist’s stabbing was linked to an earlier court case he was involved in and even his hard-hitting radio commentaries. "It is just an ordinary street crime," Felix said.

Rayco, however, said that prior to the incident, Acosta reported through his radio program incidents of stoning of motorists by street thugs in the same area where he was ganged up. 

Acosta is the 12th journalist killed in 2006, the 48th under the administration of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the 85th since the restoration of democracy in 1986 after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. Bulatlat 

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