JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Sunday he had ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel probe into the killing of journalist Larry Que in Catanduanes last week.
He said he ordered the NBI to hunt down Que’s killer and to find out the motive behind the killing, the first involving a member of the media under the Duterte administration.
“I would like to give the assurance that justice will be served on the killing of Mr. Larry Que and other victims of media killings,” Aguirre said in a text message.
Que, a columnist and publisher of a newspaper in Catanduanes, was shot in the head by a man wearing a bonnet and a raincoat on Dec. 19 in Virac on Dec. 19, and then fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.
Que died in the hospital the following day.
Que was killed after blaming local officials for the existence of a large shabu laboratory earlier seized in the province. He said the discovery of the lab brought shame to the province.
He also alleged in his column that the laboratory was set up by Chinese nationals to help the Chinese residents in the island province.
Que’s murder is said to have caused fear among the journalists in Catanduanes who also reported the shabu laboratory, which was said to be the largest in the country.
Jinky Tabor, a local broadcaster, said she received death threats after acting as a witness in the case.
Early last month, Dagupan City reporter Virgilio Maganes was shot inside a tricycle while on his way home but survived the attack after playing dead.
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility says 152 members of the media in the Philippines have been killed since 1986.