Broadcast journalist Ed Lingao reacted to a Twitter user who claimed he and fellow news personality Lourd de Veyra will be the next targets after slain radio commentator Percy Lapid.
Lingao on Thursday shared that Twitter user @PinggoyB wrote the following the day after Lapid was gunned down in Las Piñas City on October 4:
“Balita ko may [d]alawa pang kasama sa [k]ontrata na itutumba pero [‘di ko] alam ang eksaktong oras at petsa o lugar. Sila Ed Lingao at Lourd ng [TV5].”
Lingao also looked at the Twitter user’s profile.
“Ano naman kaya ang magiging palusot nitong si ‘Seth Corteza’ ng Tuscany, Italy? Concerned lang siya? May scoop siya? O pahapyaw na pagbabanta? O mema lang talaga si Seth, para mapag-usapan ng kanyang followers? O baka naman ang palusot ni Seth, employment contract daw ito,” the journalist wrote.
Lingao then responded by saying that they are “wasting their time.”
“Mga HIJO, nagsasayang lang kayo ng oras. Matagal na kaming takot. Pero nandito pa rin kami,” he wrote.
News5Everywhere reported that the Department of Justice is asking for the public’s help to find the Twitter user claiming to know the next targets.
“Nandirito ang Department of Justice para protektahan ang press freedom at buhay ng bawat Pilipino,” DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said in an interview with the network.
“If there is anyone that can provide information on Seth Corteza and/or the information he has regarding the threat on the [news] anchors’ lives, please do share them with the nearest police station for verification,” he added.
“Secretary [Boying] Remulla believes there is no room in our country for this behavior,” Clavano continued.
The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) was also alarmed by the claims targeting two news personalities.
“Any threat should be taken seriously. Of course, we expect the authorities to take the necessary action para malaman kung ano talaga ito and they should make sure na secured ang mga kasamahan natin sa media,” KBP chairperson Herman Basbaño said.
The claims came after Lapid, a veteran radio commentator, was gunned down by motor-riding assailants last week while on his way home.
He was a staunch fighter against fake news and a vocal critic of government irregularities, calling out public officials and their policies on his news commentary show “Lapid Fire.”
Among the personalities Lapid criticized include Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, former press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez and former president Rodrigo Duterte, among others.
The killing was widely condemned by Filipinos, especially his fellow journalists who said that it showed how “dangerous” the profession remains in the country.
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Wednesday urged relatives of the suspect to turn him in following the release of his photos.
“Panawagan ko sa mga kamag-anak ng tao: Isuko niyo na. He will be safer with the police than being out there,” he said on a forum.
Last Monday, the National Capital Region Police Office released a new picture of the suspect believed to be Lapid’s gunman. The reward for the capture of the suspect is set at P6.5 million.