By FROILAN GALLARDO
Special Correspondent
and CONG B. CORRALES
Editor-in-Chief
POLICE teams have been deployed to the tourist island of Camiguin after unidentified persons torched a Toyota Grandia van owned by Dr. Manny Jaudian, executive director and past president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club and its training arm, COPC Journalism Institute Saturday morning.
Police Region 10 spokesperson Major Joann Navarro said PRO-10 Regional Director Brigadier General Jaysen also ordered the deployment of a team from the PNP Criminal Investigation Group to Camiguin Island to handle the investigation into the incident.
Additional soldiers were also alerted by Major General Michele Anayron Jr., commander of the 4th Infantry Division who ordered troops of the Army 58th Infantry Battalion to secure the safety of Jaudian.
Navarro said initial police investigation revealed the suspects torched the van that was parked beside the house of Jaudian in his hometown in Sagay, Camiguin at around 2 am Saturday. She said the suspects fled right away after torching the vehicle.
She said the left front portion sustained heavy damage but no one was hurt in the incident.
“PRO-10 assures the public and the media community that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the true cause of the fire,” Navarro said.
Jaudian said police investigators found a vinegar bottle that reeked of gasoline beside the van. Fortunately, he, his staff, and his relatives were fast asleep inside the house when the suspects struck.
Although he was shaken, Jaudian said he had declined offers from the police to escort him back to Cagayan de Oro.
“Nobody can drive me away from my home. I came here to vote and I intend to do that on Monday,” Jaudian said.
Jaudian is a political figure in Camiguin, having run but lost as House of Representatives of the lone district of Camiguin under the political party of Padayon Demokratikong Pilipino of the late Senator Nene Pimentel in 2013 against the political clan of the Romualdos.
He hosts a radio program ‘Kalandrakas’ aired on the social network Mindanao Daily News and is also executive director of COPC Journalism Institute which trains aspiring reporters and photographers in Cagayan de Oro.
Jaudian, who now serves as executive director of the COPC Journalism Institute, said arson is a likely motive and linked the attack to his outspoken reporting on political dynasties and vote buying.
“Late in the afternoon about 3 pm (Friday), (there were) riding in tandem, nag tuyok-tuyok near my area many times. My cousins told me,” Jaudian said.
He added, “(This is a) sinister plan to silence the media.”
He dismissed the short circuit as a possible cause, noting the vehicle had been parked and powered down since 3 pm Friday.
The burning of the van incident has doused plans of reporters to cover the elections in Camiguin which is dotted with white beaches, waterfalls, and the scenic Mt. Hibok-hibok which towers over the island.
The Cagayan de Oro Press Club condemned the attack of the van owned by its past president as “cowardly”.
“We will not be cowed by this act of terrorism against the free press. We shall continue to do our duty in informing the public and our mandate as the fourth estate,” the press club said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said the attack was so “brazen and clearly threatens the life of Jaudian.
“This incident only shows that harassment against the media, which is one of the most documented press freedom violations in the country, has been continuing,” NUJP said in a statement.
The group noted that 177 media attacks have been documented under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Frank Rosete, NUJP chair in Cagayan de Oro said the van of Manny had clear “MEDIA” markers on its roof, and sides and was clearly defined as a media vehicle.
Rosete said before the burning, Jaudian had been discussing the impacts of a political dynasty and vote buying in Camiguin.
In an interview with Brigada News FM in Cagayan de Oro, Camiguin Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo denied his family was involved in the torching of the van of Jaudian.
Romualdo called on their political opponents to avoid putting Camiguin, a peaceful and tourist island paradise in a bad light.
He urged everyone to wait for the outcome of the police investigation of the incident.
The Romualdos who have been in power in Camiguin for more than three decades are now facing stiff opposition from local businessman Paul Rodriguez who also is being beset by residency problems.
