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PRESS RELEASE
February 04, 2009
Police Officer, et.al. Charged for Murder of Mediaman
Task Force 211 Chairman Undersecretary Ricardo
Blancaflor announced today the filing of murder charges
yesterday, February 3, 2009, against a Police Inspector
and several others accused in the killing of Dennis
Cuesta, a media practitioner and program director of
Radio Mindanao Network-DXMD in General Santos City.
P/Insp Redempto “Boy” Acharon, a certain “Gerry”, and
several John Does are facing charges for Cuesta’s murder
at the Regional Trial Court Branch 36 in General Santos
City. Warrants of arrest were issued against the accused
last February 3, 2009.
“While the assailants have been charged in court, their
arrest is of primordial importance as they are
considered as threats to public safety and security. The
final conviction of these perpetrators and masterminds
shall hopefully become an effective deterrent to the
spate of media killings”, Blancaflor said.
He added, “It is lamentable that some people do not seem
to understand that these killings affect the entire
nation and not just a particular group of people.
Instead of conveniently blaming the government, let us
try to work together to stop these political and media
killings.”
We recall that on August 4, 2008, two motorcycle-riding
gunmen fired shots at Cuesta at close range and in broad
daylight in the parking lot of a mall in Gen. Santos
City. Cuesta sustained fatal wounds which caused his
death a few days later while confined in the hospital.
Two eyewitnesses positively identified P/Insp Acharon as
one of the assailants who shot Cuesta. Acharon was
reportedly detailed at that time with the Office of the
City Mayor of General Santos City, his cousin.
According to the witnesses, Cuesta was walking towards a
buko stand near Gaisano Mall when Acharon fired
successive shots at Cuesta causing him to fall to the
pavement. Thereafter, a motorcycle-riding man, later
identified as alias “Gerry”, went near the victim and
fired two more shots at him. Both assailants then sped
away from the scene on board the get-away motorcycle.
Soon after the incident, Undersecretary Blancaflor sent
a team from Task Force 211 to investigate the case and
on August 19, the corresponding complaint against P/Insp
Acharon, one known as alias “Gerry”, and several John
Does, was filed before the Office of the Chief State
Prosecutor of the Department of Justice. During the
preliminary investigation, accused filed his
countervailing evidence. On January 5, 2009, the
investigating prosecutor ruled that probable cause
exists to charge respondent Acharon, et.al. for Cuesta’s
death.
Task Force 211 was mandated to mobilize government
agencies to successfully investigate and prosecute cases
involving political violence, including killings of
members of activist groups, media practitioners and
labor union members. Task Force 211 was instrumental in
the early resolution of four media killings in 2008. The
cases of mediamen Dennis Cuesta, Martin Roxas, Bert
Sison, and Arecio Padrigao were resolved in less than
two weeks on the average.### |
