Radio Station Targeted in Molotov Cocktail Attack

Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
May 23, 2002

On 22 May 2002, Radyo Natin, a radio station in Bangaga, Davao Oriental, in Southern Philippines, was set on fire by unidentified men.

The exact time of the fire has not been confirmed. One report said the incident occurred at around 2:00 a.m. (local time) on 22 May, while another said that the fire occurred in the evening on 22 May.

The Davao Oriental police director, Superintendent Catalino Cuy, was quoted in a report as saying that the unidentified men threw a Molotov cocktail at the radio station.

According to a newspaper report, about 1 million pesos (approx. US$20,100) worth of property and equipment from the Manila Broadcasting Station Radyo Natin were destroyed.

The police are still investigating the incident.

According to Cuy, it is possible that communist rebels were involved in the attack. On the other hand, one report stated that some municipality officials could be behind the fire since the station had been criticising Baganga town mayor Jerry Morales. In 2001, Morales ordered the radio station be closed for six months.

Radio station bombed
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility

A radio station in Cagayan de Oro City, Southern Philippines was bombed May 22, 2002 at around 1:05 AM. Assistant station manager Michael Bustamante said that a homemade bomb exploded in the garage of the Bombo Broadcast Center, which houses the Bombo Radyo AM and FM stations DXIF and DXEQ, damaging the concrete wall and the stations' signage. The bombing did not prevent the radio station from operating.

Bustamante said that a witness, an employee of an internet service provider located near the radio station, saw four men near the time of the bombing standing close to the signage before it exploded. The smoke generated by the explosion prevented the security guard from seeing anyone near the blast. No one was hurt.

Police are currently investigating the incident.

According to station manager Albino Quinlog, the current issues being exposed in its radio programs may have led to the bombing. Those issues include the selling of unlicensed medicine products, the alleged private armies of the religious cult Philippine Benevolent Christian Missionary, the kidnapping activities of a group calling themselves Desperadong Magahat, (which Quinlog said means Desperate Warrior in English) in the nearby province of Misamis Oriental, and an extremist group's announcing its presence in the city.