Pangasinan newsman Virgilio Maganes
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The Police Regional Office (PRO) 1 (Ilocos) has identified persons of interest in the killing of Pangasinan newsman Virgilio "Vir" Maganes through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage near the crime scene.
A Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) has been formed to probe and speed up the resolution of the crime against the broadcaster who was gunned down outside his residence in Barangay San Blas in Villasis town on Tuesday.
"We ensure that the Philippine National Police (PNP) will seek the truth and will pursue the case no matter who gets caught and who gets hurt. Rest assured that those responsible for this murder should be urgently found and brought to justice," PRO-1 Director, Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., said in a statement on Wednesday.
Azurin urged the media to be more vigilant and the possible witnesses of the "senseless killing" to volunteer and provide necessary information that would lead to the arrest of the killers.
He said any vital information about the case could be referred to the Pangasinan police or PRO-1 through their hotline numbers posted on their social media accounts.
Azurin also extended his sympathy to the bereaved family of Maganes.
Meanwhile, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) - Pangasinan chapter has strongly condemned the killing of one of Pangasinan’s journalists.
“We urge the authorities to exert all efforts to conduct a thorough investigation and apprehend the perpetrators. (The) KBP-Pangasinan chapter hopes that Mr. Maganes’s case will be given resolution, justice (will) be served and it will not end up in the long list of media killings in the country,” KBP’s statement read.
Maganes, who just turned 62 on November 7, was a commentator at the radio station DWPR and a columnist of the Northern Watch Newspaper in Pangasinan. (PNA)
