Layao, a block-time radio host on DXRP, a local radio
station in the city of Davao, was in a car with his cousin at about 9:30 p.m.
when two men on a motorcycle shot him three times, according to news reports
and the cousin’s account. Two of the bullets hit Layao in the neck, news
reports said.
Layao, who was also the chairman of the local city council,
had hosted a public affairs program on DXRP but resigned after he was elected
to his political post, news reports said. He continued to work as a block-timer
for the radio, discussing local issues in his radio commentaries, reports said.
The Davao City Prosecution Office found probable cause to
charge Petronilo Demicillo Jr., a former community watchman, as the gunman in
Layao’s murder based on evidence and testimony provided by Rica Niña, Layao’s wife,
and an eyewitness, news reports said.
Davao City police had initially arrested Demicillo on
separate robbery charges on April 14. Layao had given a statement to the local
police that had implicated Demicillo in the robbery. It is unclear if Layao had
reported on the robbery allegations on his radio program.
Demicillo’s trial was scheduled to begin in late 2012,
according to a Mindanao Times report. He maintained
his innocence in connection with the murder charge, the report said.