Mindanaotoday.com | P3.7M to capture Jumalon’s killers
By: URIEL QUILINGUING
Monetary reward for those who could help identify, locate the whereabouts, and arrest of suspects behind the November 5 killing of 57-year-old radio broadcaster Juan “DJ Johnny Walker” Jumalon in Misamis Occidental has gone up to P3.7 million days before his family laid his body to rest on Sunday, November 12.
On Friday, the provincial government of Misamis Occidental announced it has allocated ₱3 million for the capture of Jumalon’s killers.
Governor Henry Oaminal also said additional ₱500,000 awaits anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of Jumalon’s gunman.
On Sunday, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) pledged ₱100 thousand and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission another P100 thousand for the capture of the suspects.
Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, PTFoMS executive director, personally turned over the P350 thousand financial assistance from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez to Jumalon’s widow Joreebel and children Stephen Kyle and Kyla on Saturday, November 11.
Before going to the wake, Gutierrez was briefed by Misamis Occidental Police Director Colonel Dwight Monato on the progress of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Johnny Walker.
“The leads and possible motives being pursued by the investigators are showing promising results, pointing to a faster resolution of this incident,” Gutierrez said in a news release on Sunday.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., through PTFoMS, has assured Jumalon’s family that “law enforcement agencies are exerting all efforts to apprehend” the criminals.
On Wednesday, the SITG submitted the complaint for murder and theft against one of Jumalon’s three attackers and released a computer-generated sketch of the suspect’s face.
The suspect, reportedly a gun-for-hire in the province, was identified by three witnesses, Monato said and that they already have the name and background of one of the three possible suspects.
Meanwhile, Edith Caduaya, president of the Mindanao Independent Press Council (MIPC), recognized Jumalon’s “commitment to journalism and community service” which the group said has “has left an indelible mark, and we honor his memory.”
MIPC, in a statement, said the collective efforts of government agencies “demonstrate a united front against impunity and a shared determination to hold those accountable for Mr. Jumalon’s untimely death. We commend the swift response of the local authorities in taking proactive measures to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
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