Bombo Radyo manager arrested
THE station manager of Bombo Radyo GenSan (General Santos City) is facing charges for direct assault and robbery after he and his two security escorts disarmed two policemen, whom they mistook for motorcycle-riding gunmen attempting to waylay them.
A police report said Bombo Radyo station manager JanJan Macailing mistook for motorcycle-riding gunmen Police Officers 2 Renan Mendoza and Jeffrey Balunto, both assigned with the City Police Mobile Force Battalion, who were about to serve an arrest warrant against Macailing.
The court ordered the arrest of Macailing for his failure to attend the arraignment of a previous case of robbery and intimidation filed against him by KAPA investment leader Joel Apolinario.
The case stemmed from Macailing’s and reporter Salvador Galano’s alleged extortion attempt on Apolinario from whom they reportedly demanded P5 million in exchange for stopping their attacks on radio against KAPA’s alleged investment scam activities.
Macailing said his legal counsel Luis Salazar had petitioned the court to postpone the scheduled arraignment of his case, but Regional Trial Court Judge Oscar Noel denied the petition and instead issued a bench warrant against Macailing for failing to attend the hearing.
Senior Supt. Raul Supiter, city police director, said the policemen were tasked to arrest Macailing but were prevented by the latter’s bodyguards identified as Biendvenido Peñafiel and Jonar Olivero, who are both members of the Civil Security Unit of the local government here.
Macailing said the policemen were in civilian clothes and were wearing bonnets as they tailed him from the Bombo Radyo station in Barangay Bula, GenSan.
He added that the policemen tried to draw their handguns when they were accosted by his security escorts who subsequently disarmed them.
Macailing brought the two policemen to the office of City Mayor Ronnel Rivera who received the firearms and belongings of the policemen for safekeeping.
Rivera advised Macailing and his companions to face the charges the policemen filed against them.
They are now detained at the police station in GenSan pending the posting of their bail bond placed at P100,000.