Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Condemnation for the killer and condolences for the family of Jonathan Oldan continued to come on Friday (June 26), a day after the CNN Philippines cameraman was gunned down just meters from his home in Imus, Cavite.
At Malacañang Palace, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. issued this statement: “We condemn the killing of CNN Philippines’ employee Jonathan Oldan. The Philippine National Police has been directed to pursue those who may have been responsible for his death so that the ends of justice may be served.”
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate also issued a statement, saying: “We condemn the killing of Jojo Oldan, and seek for immediate justice for his killing. We also express our deepest condolences to his family.”
“The Aquino government is not doing its job of protecting media workers from these crimes,” Zarate added. “The continued failure of the government to arrest, prosecute and convict the perpetrators is indicative of how little, if any at all, importance that the Aquino administration is making to stop this murderous rampage and end the state of impunity in our country,” Rep. Zarate claimed.
Media colleagues’ react
A day earlier, the International Federation of Journalists and its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) issued a statement condemning the killing.
“The IFJ and NUJP express condolences to the family and colleagues of Jonathan Oldan,” the statement said. “The IFJ calls on the Philippines government to launch an immediate investigation into the murder and take effective steps to end the ongoing culture of impunity that is rampant in the Philippines.”
According to the IFJ, since 1986, more than 170 journalists have been murdered in the Philippines — 36 under the current Aquino administration, four of them this year.
At the Supreme Court, which Oldan covered having been on the justice beat, the Justice and Court Reporters Association (JUCRA) were also among the first to issue a statement on the killing of their Kuya Joe, as they used to call Oldan.
In its statement, JUCRA said: “Whether the incident was related to our work in covering the Justice Department and the judiciary or to any other motive, his brutal murder demands justice and extent of the long arms of the law. We would like to extend our sympathies to the family of Kuya Joe, who was a brother to us in our daily grind. We pray for his eternal repose and for justice to be served on his loved ones.”
Eyewitness account
Police found Oldan’s body flat to the ground at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday (June 25) on Bukaneg Street, Barangay Pinag-Buklod in Imus, several hundred meters from where he lives. He sustained seven gunshot wounds.
According to a witness who refused to be identified, he heard two men having a heated argument near a bakery. It was Oldan’s routine to drop by this bakery every morning on his way to work.
After awhile, the witness saw a man with Oldan pull out a gun and point it towards him.
At this point, the witness fled. So he didn’t see the face of the gunman, but he said he was certain he was wearing a brown jacket and denim jeans.
Imus police investigators said that, based on the placement of his gunshot wounds, Oldan tried to run away. But he was stopped by two shots in the lower back, then in the left leg. Then in the neck.
The assailant then approached the already immobile Oldan and shot him close range — three times on the back of the head.
Authorities are still investigating whether the killing brews from personal conflict or if it is in any way related to Oldan’s work in the media.
The Cavite Police Provincial Office has formed a special investigation task group to look the killling.
The National Bureau of Investigation has also started its own probe.
The killing of Oldan follows the assasination of Melinda “Mei” Magsino in Batangas, a correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Magsino was the 32nd journalist killed in the country under the Aquino administration and the 173rd journalist murdered since 1986.
CNN Philippines’ Anjo Alimario, Fiona Nicolas, ,Miguel Ortilla , and Paul Garcia contributed to this report.
