Two gunmen on a motorcycle shot Solijon while he was walking to
his car after having dinner with a friend at around 10:30 p.m. in Bur-un
village of Iligan City, in Lanao del Norte province of Northern Mindanao
region, according to news reports. The news accounts said the assailants shot
him several times at close range in the head, abdomen, and shoulder. Police
investigators recovered a number of shells from a .45 caliber handgun from the
scene, according to news reports.
Solijon, a radio commentator with DxLS Love Radio of Iligan
City, was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. During his regular
radio program, Solijon frequently criticized local politicians. DxLS anchor
Bobby Bariga told the Center
for Media Freedom and Responsibility, a local press freedom
group, that Solijon had discussed a purchase by Iligan City Mayor Celso
Regencia of an expensive house and car during his last call-in broadcast on the
day of his death. Bariga said an anonymous caller threatened Solijon, saying on
air: “Your coffin’s already made.”
Solijon’s previous reports included accusations that
village-level officials were involved in the illegal drug trade. Local reports
indicated Solijon had received several death threats by telephone and
letter before his murder. Investigating Senior Police Officer Melvin Denore
told CMFR in a phone interview on August 30 that Solijon’s murder was related
to his work and that the radio journalist was a prominent political
commentator.
On October 28, the National Bureau of Investigation identified
Iligan City police officer P. J. Capangpangan as a suspect in the case based on
two witness accounts and placed him under house arrest while officers gathered
evidence, according to local news
reports. A second suspect, Edward Tucaran, was
shot and killed under unclear circumstances two days after Solijon’s murder,
according to the reports.