Slain broadcaster received so many threats
CEBU CITY-- “We received so many threats that we lost count.”
This was how a colleague of slain Aklan broadcaster Herson “Boy” Hinolan yesterday recounted the death threats received by Hinolan and his colleagues at Bombo Radyo Kalibo.
In his testimony during the resumption of the trial on Hinolan's murder case at the Cebu Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 16, Bombo Radyo broadcaster Jan Allen Escaño said Hinolan received death threats through phone calls for around a year before the broadcaster was killed.
Escaño said that among the death threats against Hinolan were those allegedly from former Lezo town mayor Alfredo “Fred” Arcenio who has been tagged as the broadcaster's killer. The others were from government officials, suspected gambling and drug lords who were regular subjects in Hinolan's commentaries.
The death threats were revealed by Hinolan to the station's employees which prompted the radio network to provide him a bodyguard, according to Escaño.
A lone gunman repeatedly shot Hinolan on November 13, 2004 near a carnival in the capital town of Kalibo. He died two days later from multiple gunshot wounds.
Arecenio has repeatedly denied involvement in the killing of Hinolan, former station manager of dyIN Bombo Radyo in Kalibo and host of the station's morning program "Bombohanay Bigtime." The former mayor has claimed that he was in Lezo town 7 km from Kalibo at the time of the incident.
Arcenio's lawyer Gloria Dalawampu in her cross-examination of Escaño focused on the lack of evidence to back up Hinolan's statements that he was threatened by the former mayor.
Escaño when asked by Dalawampu said they have no recordings of the phone calls allegedly from Arcenio.
Dalawampu and Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera II got into a heated argument over the motion of the Dalawampu to recall the prosecution's eyewitness Niño Suner to the witness stand.
Judge Sylva Aguirre-Paderanga ordered the defense and prosecution panels to submit their pleadings before resolving the motion to allow Nuner to testify again.
Suner, who on May 26 last year testified and identified Arcenio as the gunman who repeatedly shot Hinolan, has retracted his statement.
In an affidavit dated October 28, 2008, Suner said he was unable to see who shot Hinolan and only identified Arcenio as the gunman because the former mayor had already been tagged as the suspect. He said his conscience dictated him to correct his earlier statement.
Dalawampu said she was unaware of Suner's retraction but wanted him to testify again because his earlier testimonies had “full of loopholes.”
Dacera said Suner's retraction have no significant impact on the case because Suner had already testified. He said Supreme Court doctrines have also looked unfavorably at retractions because of the possibility that witnesses could be coerced or bribed in the course of the trial.
Dacera raised concern in open court of the alleged “scheme” of Arsenio's camp to turn their witnesses around through threats or bribery.
Another prosecution witness Peter Melgar earlier retracted his statement.
“There is a continuing scheme of depriving the prosecution of a fair trial by intimidating or offering money to our witnesses,” said Dacera in an interview.
But Arcenio said it was the Department of Justice through its Witness Protection Program that has been offering money to witnesses.
“They are the one who have bribed the witnesses. The DOJ has become the Department of Injustice,” said Arcenio.
Arecenio said he is also seeking justice because he has been accused and detained despite having nothing to do with Hinolan's death.
The hearings yesterday were attended by media groups including the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists.