Lim's Photo | Inquirer
“He was very friendly. I had never heard someone get angry at him,” the 68-year-old woman said.
If Maurito Lim, 71, had received any death threat before the attack, the blocktimer of dyRD radio station in Tagbilaran City, Bohol province, he never told her. “He was the type to keep it to himself so I would not worry,” Nunilone said.
Lim, anchor of the radio program “Chairman Mao on Board” every Saturday, 11 a.m., had just parked his Isuzu Crosswind sports utility vehicle (SUV) in front of the dyRD building on B. Inting Street on Feb.14, when a lone assailant shot him in the head.
The killer had arrived on a motorcycle, parked behind the SUV, and appeared to have been tailing the victim, based on the footage of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera at dyRD.
172nd media death
Lim was the second journalist to have been murdered in Bohol province since 2011, after Antonio Silagon, publisher of Bohol Balita Daily News, who was gunned down in Trinidad town. He was the 172nd journalist killed since 1986 and the 31st under the Aquino administration, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
The Bohol police has formed “Task Force Mao” to investigate the latest killing. Meanwhile, the provincial and city governments put up a bounty of P150,000 for anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the killer.
Though she could not think of anyone who wanted him dead, Nunilone said she noticed that her husband had been discussing the issue of illegal drugs in the province since last year.
“He remained neutral about the issue. He had never pinpointed a person in his program,” she said.
Married for 44 years, the couple have two daughters—one based in Cebu and the other in the United States.
‘Kuya Rito’
Lim, an engineer, used to teach at University of Bohol and once worked for National Power Corp.
His first foray in broadcasting was in the 1970s when he hosted “Kuya Rito,” a public service program over radio dyTR. The program stopped in the 1980s when Maurito decided to focus on his teaching job, Nunilone said.
In 2000, he bought airtime at dyRD for a music-oriented program “Harana,” aired every Sunday, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to radio station owner Peter Dejaresco.
A decade later, Lim bought another hour-long segment, also at dyRD, for “Chairman Mao on Board.” He would call lawyer Victor dela Serna to seek his opinion on some issues. Dela Serna, who was appointed acting governor in 1986 by then President Cory Aquino, was also a blocktimer in another radio station.
Last month, Lim bought a 30-minute airtime at dyRD for “Lactopafi,” a daily program starting at 3 p.m., to promote the health supplement he was selling.
‘Chairman Mao’
Last year, Lim started discussing in “Chairman Mao” the involvement of some politicians in illegal drugs—the same subject of Dela Serna’s program. The latter, however, declined to say if Lim’s death was related to the issue.
“I am still in shock over what happened. I am calling on the authorities to solve the killing of my husband,” Nunilone said.
Police had yet to identify the gunman. Chief Insp. George Vale, chief of the Tagbilaran police, said investigators were having difficulty reviewing the CCTV footage because it showed the killer’s face partly covered by a baseball cap and the license plate of the motorcycle was not clear.
Leo Udtohan, president of the NUJP in Bohol, called on authorities to solve this killing before the 40th day of his death. “We will remain vigilant and monitor the progress of Chairman Mao’s case,” he said.
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