NOrPPO to provide security for family
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
A P400,000 cash reward has been offered seeking the arrest of the suspects behind last Monday’s fatal shooting of Dumaguete City-based radio anchorman Edmund Sestoso.
Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go said P200,000 came from the national government, while Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo will each provide P100,000.
Aside from pledging to provide burial assistance, Go provided Sestoso’s family P20,000 in financial assistance and two mobile phones in order for the broadcaster’s two children to contact him at any time.
“We will help them through educational assistance,” he said.
A composite sketch of the gunman from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was presented to Go, who also showed it to the family.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, who was with Go during Sestoso’s wake, expressed grief over the death of Sestoso, who he said was a colleague during his days as a practicing journalist.
“It is very sad because he was a very good guy to talk to, very energetic, very animated,” Andanar said.
“We, in the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFMS), will make sure that our media men are secured,” he pointed out.
Andanar also appealed for any information that could help in the ongoing investigation.
PTFMS executive director, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco, said their visit is not just to visit the wake and console Sestoso’s family but to “show the sincerity of President Duterte’s administration and that this government does not condone violence [against] the press and media.”
The Malacañan officials also assured Sestoso’s wife and family their security, with Go ordering acting Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent Edwin Portento, to protect the family.
Last Monday, the Dumaguete City-based broadcaster was heading home when he was attacked by motorcycle-riding gunmen./DGB, WDJ