NBI: TV crew’s attackers claimed allegiance to ISIS

From The Standard (Dec 30): NBI: TV crew’s attackers claimed allegiance to ISIS

Motorcycle-riding gunmen who shot at an ABS-CBN television crew based in Iligan claimed to be sympathizers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation said  Monday.

Alex Cabornay, head of the NBI agents in Northern Mindanao, said four men riding in two motorcycles shot at the TV crew on a busy street in Banggolo, Marawi City a day after Christmas.

Cabornay said the ABS-CBN crew of three was unhurt, but the windshield of their service pick-up was shattered. The crew sought help from a nearby military camp and was escorted back to Iligan City.

Cabornay said NBI agents have launched a manhunt for the suspects, who have also figured in other crimes.

He said the group wanted to gain recognition—and financial assistance—from ISIS.

The three-man Iligan-based ABS-CBN crew headed by reporter Ronnie Enderes went to Marawi City to cover the bombing of an electrical tower in Rama-in, 13 kilometers from Marawi City. He was with cameraman Emelito Balansag and driver Garry Montecillo.

Enderes said his crew was already going home when they noticed that two motorbikes were tailing them.

“We tried to mislead the suspects by following various routes, but were later caught in Banggolo where one of the suspects fired at the driver and the other at the left side of our service vehicle,” he said.

“The car’s windshield was broken but the wheel was not hit. None of us was hit too. We were able to ask for assistance at the Army brigade in Marawi City,” he said.

Enderes, who has been a reporter for 16 years, said this was the first time he had been attacked.

Senator Francis Escudero  on Tuesday  condemned the attack and urged the authorities to speed up their investigation.

He said the assassination attempt on Enderes and his crew was “a serious attack against press freedom.”

“There is no doubt that the ambush was work-related. Although no one was seriously injured, it is important that authorities go after those responsible for the incident and put them behind bars, otherwise there will be no end to the culture of impunity against journalists,” he said.

This year alone, seven Filipino journalists have been killed; the latest among them is Jose Bernardo, a radio dwIZ correspondent and columnist for the tabloid Bandera Pilipino.

A lone gunman shot Bernardo in front of a restaurant in Barangay Kaligayahan, Quezon City on  Oct. 21. He suffered two gunshot wounds in the head and died on the spot.

Bernardo was the 32nd journalist to be killed under the Aquino administration and the third in Quezon City. Many of the killings of journalists remained unsolved.

http://thestandard.com.ph/news/-main-stories/top-stories/195586/nbi-tv-crew-s-attackers-claimed-allegiance-to-isis.html