The interior of the modern jeepney which Cebu-based blocktimer and journalist Rico Osmeña boarded on Dec. 16, 2021. Osmeña survived the ambush while he was inside the jeep. | Contributed Photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Still unidentified assailants shot a Cebu-based radio commentator on Thursday noon, December 16.
The victim was identified as Rico Osmeña, a blocktimer of Cebu radio station dyLA and correspondent of The Daily Tribune. He was shot while riding a modern jeepney in downtown Cebu City
Osmeña survived the ambush and is now confined in a private hospital in the city’s uptown area.
Initial findings from the police stated that the gunman was riding a motorcycle.
“Based on what our investigation team has gathered from witnesses, there were two men, riding a motorcycle. The jeep was about to make a left turn from Urdaneta Street to M.J. Cuenco Avenue. Then the gunman fired his gun,” said Police Major Edgar Labe, chief of Waterfront Police Station, in Cebuano.
Osmeña sustained gunshot wounds on his shoulder. He was rushed to a hospital in uptown Cebu City by the driver of the modern jeepney he was riding.
“We have yet to receive his medical bulletin so we cannot say now as to what’s his condition. But we talked to the driver, and told us he (Osmeña) was conscious when he was being transported to the hospital,” Labe said.
Labe also confirmed that another passenger of the modern jeepney was injured due to the incident. But they are still awaiting official results from physicians to check whether or not these were gunshot wounds.
Investigators are eyeing work as a possible motive.
“But we’re not ruling out any possible angles. When Mr. Osmeña recovers, hopefully, he can provide us (with) some details and background as leads,” Labe continued.
In the meantime, police will be gathering closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage near the crime scene and in areas where Osmeña reportedly boarded the jeep.
Labe said they received two versions of the victim’s whereabouts shortly before the crime happened.
One version claims that Osmeña boarded the modern jeepney along Urdaneta Street while the other reported that the media man hailed the public utility vehicle (PUV) near the headquarters of Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) in nearby Lapu-Lapu Street.
“We are backtracking everything, and this includes checking out CCTVs to determine which version is the real one,” Labe explained.
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