Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Monday, May 3, said he will ask the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to investigate the killing last May 2 of John Heredia, member of the board of directors of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
“Considering that John Heredia was a journalist, I will refer his case to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security for investigation and case build-up,” said Guevarra, also co-chairman of the PTFoMS.
Heredia was killed at around 2 p.m. Sunday, May 2, at the parking lot of CitiHardware in Barangay Lawaan in Roxas City, Capiz.
The NUJP has already issued a statement condemning the killing of the 54-year-old Heredia who was also the municipal administrator of Pilar town in Capiz.
“A long-time member and officer of the NUJP, Heredia was the chair of the Capiz chapter and was a member of the union’s board of directors before entering government service,” the NUJP said.
“While Heredia was no longer in media when he was killed, his death is a symptom of the culture of impunity in the Philippines,” it lamented.
It called on law enforcement authorities to conduct “a thorough investigation and a swift resolution of the case.”
It pointed out that “his wife, human rights lawyer and anti-mining advocate Criselda Azarcon-Heredia, was the target of an ambush in September 2019.”
“Criselda, a member of the National Union of People’s Lawyers in Panay, has been red-tagged in posters in Iloilo prior to the attack,” it added.