MEDIA SAFETY. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Joel Egco, who is the executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), says on Thursday (May 27, 2021) a deeper probe is being conducted by authorities on the case of slain Dumaguete broadcast journalist Cornelio Pepino. Egco spoke during a PTFoMS webinar on media safety, during which he gave an update on Pepino's case. (Screen shot from PTFoMS webinar)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Joel Egco, Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), on Thursday said they are not sleeping on the case of slain Dumaguete broadcast journalist Cornelio Pepino.
In a PTFoMS webinar on media safety, Egco gave an update on the case of the broadcaster, known as Rex Cornelio, who was shot dead on May 5, 2020, while driving home after his evening radio program at Original Energy FM 93.7.
“Rest assured that we are focused on that case, as well as other cases that people might think are not moving forward,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
Egco said the biggest challenge in the case involves the witness and “we have been in close contact with the wife, the widow of Rex Pepino and she understands our predicament”.
“However, there are good developments and I am sure that you are all very aware that despite the recovery of the gun used in killing Rex Pepino and the killing of the alleged perpetrator, Barillo. Hindi tayo tumigil doon (we did not stop there),” he said.
He said people might think it is already a closed case because the alleged murder weapon was recovered and the supposed gunman was also killed.
“But we will dig deeper into this,” he added.
Pepino was the third media practitioner in Dumaguete City to be killed in recent years.
Broadcast journalists Edmund Sesto and Dindo Generoso were shot dead in 2018 and in 2019, respectively. (PNA)
