Cops hunt radio block timer's gunman
Published Mar 22, 2026 05:28 pm
IBAY (PRO-NIR)
BACOLOD CITY – The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) is hunting the gunman of a 49-year-old radio block timer in Barangay Robles, La Castellana, Negros Occidental on Friday, March 20.
Authorities are determining the motive behind the murder of Julio Calo. Intelligence units are working to identify all individuals involved, including any accomplices.
Police Major Romulo Gepilango V, La Castellana police chief, revealed that the victim had an illegal drugs case in 2018 but investigators have not established any link between that and the attack.
Calo, who also worked as a job order casual employee in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, had just started as a radio block timer and aired his first episode on March 14 over community station 88.3 DNN News FM when he was killed.
The PRO-NIR described the killing as a calculated act.
Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, PRO-NIR director, stressed the urgency of the operation.
“This is a deliberate act of violence, and we expect results,” Ibay said, directing the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office to exhaust all investigative and operational efforts to identify and arrest the perpetrator.
The PRO-NIR has formed a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to ensure a focused, coordinated, and results-driven case buildup.
The SITG is currently conducting extensive closed circuit television (CCTV) backtracking in La Castellana, La Carlota City, and nearby areas to trace the vehicle of the suspect, including entry and escape routes.
The PRO-NIR assured the public that all available resources are being utilized to resolve the case swiftly and bring those responsible to justice. It also urged anyone with relevant information to come forward and assist in the investigation.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Negros Island Region (NUJP-NIR) strongly condemned the brutal killing of Calo.
NUJP-NIR chairman Chito Berjit Jr., said in a statement, that this senseless act of violence is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern of attacks against media workers in the country, citing countless journalists killed in the line of duty.
“Worse, significant number of these cases remain unsolved, with perpetrators and masterminds escaping justice,” he stressed.
The NUJP-NIR urged authorities to take decisive, immediate, action, conduct a thorough, impartial, and expeditious investigation to identify the perpetrator and accomplices, and bring them to justice.