August 4, 2019

The chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines’ Bacolod chapter reported being tailed by a suspicious motorcycle rider Sunday afternoon, August 4, as she returned home from covering the killings in Negros Oriental province.

Marchel Espina, who is also Bacolod correspondent for Rappler, said she was returning from Canlaon City when the driver of her rental car alerted her to the rider, who was of medium build and wore a bonnet concealing his face, a black jacket and pants, and with a backpack.

The rider, she said, trailed them for almost 18 kilometers, from Biaknabato to Taburda, in La Castellana town.

Espina quoted her driver as saying he blocked an attempt by the rider to overtake their vehicle and drove as fast as he could until they finally lost the tail.

On July 27, a councilor and village chairman were murdered in their homes by masked killers armed with assault rifles.

The recent wave of violence in Negros Oriental has left at least 21 people dead over the past two weeks.

Many of the victims were killed by motorcycle-riding killers.

Reference:

Nonoy Espina
Safety officer for the Visayas
09453503459