CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 10 May) — Police teams were sent to the island province of Camiguin after unidentified persons torched a Toyota Grandia van owned by Dr. Manuel Jaudian, past president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club, Friday morning.
Police Region 10 spokesperson Major Joann Navarro said PRO 10 regional director BGen Jaysen de Guzman also ordered the deployment of PNP Criminal Investigation Group personnel to Camiguin to handle the investigation of the incident.
Meanwhile, MGen Michele Anayron Jr., 4th Infantry Division commander, ordered the 58th Infantry Battalion to provide security to Jaudian.
Navarro said initial police investigation revealed the attackers fled immediately after burning the van that was parked beside Jaudian’s house in his hometown in Sagay around 2am Friday.
She said the left front portion of the vehicle sustained heavy damage but no one was hurt.
“PRO 10 assures the public and the media community that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the true cause of the fire,” she said.
Jaudian said police investigators found a bottle of vinegar that smelled of gasoline beside the van.
Jaudian, his staff and relatives were fast asleep inside the house when the attackers came.
Although 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,” he said.
Jaudian is a political figure in Camiguin, having run in 2013 for the province’s lone House seat under the PDP-Laban then led by the late senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. but lost to a member of the ruling Romualdo family.
He hosts the radio program “Kalandrakas” aired on social media by Mindanao Daily News, and is also the executive director of COPC Journalism Institute that trains aspiring reporters and photographers in Cagayan de Oro.
The incident has discouraged reporters from covering the elections in Camiguin, an island endowed with white beaches, waterfalls and the scenic Mt. Hibok-hibok.
The COPC condemned the attack 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 (NUJP) said the attack was so “brazen and clearly threatens the life of Jaudian.”
Frank Rosete, NUJP chair in Cagayan de Oro said the van had the word “media” clearly painted on its roof and sides.
Rosete said that before the burning, Jaudian has been discussing the impact of dynasticism and vote-buying in Camiguin.
In an interview with Brigada News FM in Cagayan de Oro, Camiguin Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo said his family was not involved in the attack.
Romualdo called on their political opponents to avoid putting the province, a popular tourist destination, 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 being challenged by businessman Paul Rodriguez, a candidate for Congress.
However, the Commission on Elections 2nd division, acting on a petition filed by incumbent Congressman Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, has canceled Rodriguez’s candidacy for allegedly failing to meet the residency requirement. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
