House Speaker Martin Romualdez has appealed to journalists to trust in the capabilites of the Philippine National Police (PNP) as it endeavors to solve the murder of industry veteran Johnny Dayang.
“We just have to trust them. They are the ones who have the legal mandate, the expertise, the men, and equipment to do this job,” Romualdez said in a statement over the weekend.
“Under the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Gen. Rommel Marbil and his team have been working diligently to improve public order and safety, as evidenced by a lower crime rate compared to the previous administration,” Romualdez noted.
At any rate, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president has already asked Marbil, the PNP chief, to have a direct role in solving the Dayang case.
Earlier, Romualdez received a letter from broadcast journalist Rey Langit, chairman emeritus, Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster ng Pilipinas (KBP)-Metro Manila, seeking his support “to ensure that this case is not forgotten and decisive justice is delivered".
“We share the concern of our journalist-friends. So I am asking General Marbil to take a direct and an active role in solving Johnny Dayang’s murder. He should see to it that justice is done at the soonest possible time,” the Speaker said.
Dayang, 89, chairman emeritus of the Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc., was shot and killed by an intruder inside his residence, in Kalibo, Aklan on April 29.
Romualdez said he agreed with journalists that the failure of the authorities to catch Dayang’s killer “sends a chilling effect on media practitioners and hampers the performance of their duty to inform the public".
Romualdez assured journalists that the Marcos administration was doing all it can to protect media practitioners and solve media killings.
“Proof of this is that Malacañang has a special presidential task force in charge of journalist protection. The task force is also tasked to coordinate the solution of any media killing,” he said.