FORMER BROADCASTER KILLED IN GENSAN

AN ex-broadcaster and an activist on Monday was shot dead in Bgy. Lagao, General Santos City.

Killed was Jejhon Ali “Toti” Macalintal, a former radio anchor of RPN-General Santos.

Macalintal served as deputy secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan in General Santos City.

The 39-year-old transwoman member of the LGBTQ+ community, was shot inside a spa and acupuncture clinic she owned in Bgy. Lagao.

According to witnesses, a man wearing a hooded jacket and a bull cap entered the Delmond Parlor and Spa and shot Macalintal at close range before fleeing at 7 a.m.  Monday.

Emergency responders rushed the victim to the hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

Probers recovered at the crime scene five empty shells for a cal. .45 pistol.

The killing of Macalintal, a vocal advocate for social justice and marginalized groups, was strongly condemned by her former media colleagues and the activist communities.

Human rights group Karapatan has called for a swift investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“We are considering all angles on Ali’s activism and her work in the media, as well as the political context where activists in Mindanao routinely experience harassment from state forces,” Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, said when asked whether Macalintal’s killing could have something to do with her being a former activist.

The LGBTQ community said they lost a powerful voice in advancing the LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

Police are eyeing business rivalry or Malacalintal’s being a member of a militant group as possible reasons for the attack.

An in-depth investigation is ongoing.