[Mohammad Hessam Midtimbang was not a member of the press but a Muslim scholar, as clarified by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS)]
Radio broadcaster Juan Tumpag Jumalon, known as Johnny Walker on 94.7 Calamba Gold FM, was shot dead while doing a live stream of his show inside the station booth in Brgy. Don Bernardo A. Neri, Calamba in Misamis Occidental.
The killing came in the same week commemorating the International Day to End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the brazen killing of Jumalon saying that the attack is even more condemnable since it happened at the victim’s own home which also served as the radio station.
As seen in one of the footage, two suspects arrived at Jumalon’s home seeking permission to enter the radio station to announce “something important” when both forcibly entered the gates and drew a gun towards one individual.
Another footage was seen inside Jumalon’s booth where he was conducting his morning live show when one suspect shot him in the lower lip towards the back portion of his head.
The live broadcast has been removed from 94.7 Calamba Gold FM’s Facebook page. However, some internet users captured the incident through a screen record, revealing the perpetrator stealing Tumpag’s gold necklace before hastily fleeing the scene.
Misamis Occidental governor Henry Oaminal also expressed his shock and grief at Jumalon’s killing.
“Having known this man as a fearless broadcaster, I share the grief of his family and the people of my province for we lost a truth crusader,” said the provincial governor.
Jumalon is a well-known radio broadcaster in Calamba, Misamis Occidental. He was also a Sangguniang Bayan Member and a Board of Directors for the Water District in his hometown.
According to reports, Jumalon is also a person with a disability (PWD).
Gov. Oaminal further ordered provincial cops to investigate Jumalon’s case and all other cases of atrocities in Misamis Occidental. Calamba authorities have already conducted a hot pursuit operation and all checkpoints have been alerted for the immediate identification and whereabouts of the suspects.
Meanwhile, Jumalon lost his wife and two children.
Jumalon is the fourth radio broadcast journalist slain behind Percy Lapid, Renato Blanco, and Cris Bunduquin, and under Marcos Jr.’s administration.
The Philippines currently holds the 132nd rank out of 180 in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index report of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Committee to Protect Journalists also reported the Philippines ranked 8th among the worst countries for prosecuting killers of journalists in the 2023 Global Impunity Index. The country has appeared in the index every year since its inception in 2008.
