The Presidential Task Force on Media Security on Tuesday announced that it is expecting anytime the issuance of warrants of arrest against the three identified suspects in the killing of Juan “DJ Johnny Walker” Jumalon, the owner and anchor of Gold 94.7 FM community radio station in the town of Calamba last 5 November 2023.

It added that the Regional Trial Court of Misamis Occidental may soon release the arrest warrants as Provincial Prosecutor Dickie Gongob had already approved the filing of the cases for murder and theft before the Mindoro Occidental Regional Trial Court after establishing there is “reasonable certainty of conviction” of the suspects when the cases go on trial.

PTFoMS executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said that the information came from SITG ground commander and Misamis Occidental Provincial Police director P/Col. Dwight Monato.

Gutierrez said that just days after the incident, the SITG formed by the Philippine National Police had already identified the suspects and submitted the complaint at the office of Gongob.

However, a directive issued by Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla in March 2023 mandated all prosecutors to work closely with investigators in any criminal complaint and ensure the reasonable certainty of conviction of any suspect before filing the information to a court of jurisdiction.

The directive is to ensure that no frivolous or “weak cases” would be filed by any prosecutor and ensure the delivery of justice to victims of heinous crimes.

“There is a reason for the delay in the filing of the cases but as this has been hurdled already, we are confident that justice would be soon served to Jumalon and his family,” Gutierrez said.

The PTFoMS chief added that the suspects — alias “Ricky,” “Inteng” and “Boboy” — will be charged with murder while an additional case of theft would be filed against Ricky.

He assured to reveal the suspects’ true identities as soon as the warrants for their arrest have been issued by the court.

To recall, Jumalon was anchoring his regular morning program via livestreaming past 5 a.m. when the suspects forcibly entered his family compound where his radio station is also located.

Reports said that alias Ricky went straight at Jumalon who was seated at the anchor’s chair and shot him at point blank range with a .45 caliber pistol. Ricky then grabbed Jumalon’s gold necklace before fleeing with his accomplices on board a motorcycle.

The killing — caught live on camera — drew widespread condemnation, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directing law enforcement agencies and the PTFoMS to resolve the incident.

Gutierrez also said that in filing the information before the court, Gongob also approved the recommendation of attending prosecutor, Mark Jerome Labad to deny the alibi presented by Inteng and Boboy to distance themselves from the incident.

Labad contended that their excuse for allegedly not being present during the attack on Jumalon should be better appreciated by the court in a full-blown trial.

All the suspects have been positively identified by witnesses with alias Ricky also being identified by the intelligence community as a former armed fighter of the communist New People’s Army.

Records also show that alias Ricky has several standing warrants of arrest for murder, frustrated murder, and involvement in illegal drugs.

To further hasten the suspects’ arrest, Gutierrez said that with the help of the Apo Production Unit, they managed to print 70,000 pieces of wanted flyers of the suspects, adding that 40,000 pieces of the flyers have been shipped to the office of Monato in Oroquieta City for dissemination in Misamis Occidental and nearby areas.