Undersecrertary Joel Sy Egco of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security. șÚÁÏÉç file photo
MANILA, Philippines â While slain journalist Jesus âJessâ Malabanan indeed felt threatened for his role in helping a wire news agency craft its drug war reports, an undersecretary handling issues on media security believes that angle to the case is becoming a remote possibility.
Undersecretary Joel Egco, who heads the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) confirmed in an interview with ABS-CBN șÚÁÏÉç Channelâs Headstart on Monday that Malabanan approached him three years ago, regarding a possible threat to his life while he was in Pampanga.
Egco said that they are still considering that as a motive for Malabananâs killing, but noted at the same time that it would be far-fetched for people in Pampanga â if ever the threat was real â to travel to Samar just to kill him.
âPano kung âyong dating galit nga sa kanya sa Pampanga, inabangan pa sa Samar? I think thereâs a very remote possibility na ang isang bibira [âŠ] ay will travel to his hometown in Samar. Because Jess â according to our friends â he was planning to stay there for good at pangarap nga daw talaga niya mag-farming,â Egco said.
(What if the person mad at him in Pampanga waited it out in Samar? I think thereâs a very remote possibility that an assassin will travel to his hometown in Samar. Because Jess â according to our friends â was planning to stay there for good as he wanted to do farming.)
âIna-analyze namin kung dito, itâs a long way from Pampanga to Samar no. And people who may have wanted him dead, from Luzon halimbawa, ang haba noâng kalsada na âyon no (thatâs also a long road),â he added.
According to Egco â a former reporter himself â they gave Malabanan protection but the undercover agents placed near him did not see any signs of surveillance.
âSiguro i-clear ko na rin no, kasi there are some sectors, people who are saying, na dinidikit ito doon sa drug war. Yes Jess approached me three years ago when he felt threatened in Pampanga, because wala naman siyang sinulat, but that time he acted as guide to foreign correspondents who were writing about the drug war back then,â he said.
(Maybe Iâll clear this also: because there are some sectors, people who are linking this to the drug war. Yes, Jess approached me three years ago when he felt threatened in Pampanga, not because he wrote anything, but because he acted as a guide to foreign correspondents who were writing about the drug war.)
âSo na-threaten siya, feeling niya parang sinu-surveillance siya no. So what we did was to provide him security, we spoke and naglagay tayo ng mga tao doân sa paligid ng kanyang mga tinitirhan no. So, mga undercover agents, to find out kung meron talagang sumu-surveillance [âŠ] But it turned out negative,â he added.
(So he felt threatened, that he was being surveilled. So what we did was to provide him security, we spoke and placed people around his residence. So, undercover agents were there to find out if someone is really monitoring him. But it turned out negative.)
Egco said that Malabanan was thankful for the assistance. The task force head also admitted hearing that Malabananâs move to Samar stemmed from his perceived threats, but stressed that the latter also emerged after some time as he felt that the threat had already subsided.
âThere was a time, noâng time na âyon na na-threaten siya, ay âyon ang info natin: nagpahinga muna siya doân, doân siya parang nagtago, in hiding. So tinatanong ko nga siya, âJess âwag kang matakot nandito naman ako, magkita tayo.â  Kaya lang sabi niya âMalayo ako Usec eh,ââ Egco said.
(There was a time, when he felt threatened, that we got an info that he was in Samar to cool down, in hiding. So I told him,âJess donât be afraid because Iâm here, let us meetâ. But he said that he was far away.)
âSo âyong threat noon, talagang nandoon, confined doon sa Pampanga, but eventually it dissipated. Nawala na. In fact kapag nagkikita kami in some previous gatherings nagkikita kami nâyan eh [âŠ] sabi niya âOkay naman na, wala naman nang problemaâ. Pero syempre sabi ko âWag ka pa ring kampante,ââ he explained.
(So the threat was there, confined only in Pampanga, but eventually it dissipated. It was gone. In fact when we saw each other at past gatherings, he would say that the threat has subsided. But I told him that he should not be complacent.)
Malabanan was shot by unknown assailants close range on early Wednesday night. According to his wife, they were watching the television inside their store in Calbayog who was with him when the incident happened.
However, she failed to identify who the assailants were due to the fact that it was already dark.
READ: Pampanga-based journalist shot dead in Samar
After his death, reports about his body of work surfaced, including his role in helping Reuters in its Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of President Rodriog Duterteâs war against illegal drugs.
Still, Egco said on Saturday that land dispute may be a more pressing motive in the killing of Malabanan.
READ: Slain Pampanga journo helped in Pulitzer-winning report on drug war
READ: Land dispute a possible motive in slay of journo Malabanan â task force
Last Thursday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos ordered the formation of a special investigating task group to focus on the case. According to Egco, the SITG and other offices working to resolve Malabananâs death would be having a case conference by 1:00 p.m. of Monday.
READ: PNP forms special group to probe journoâs murder in Western Samar