By ARTHA KIRA PAREDES
AT the start of the year of the rabbit, Abrenians are in no way celebrating and are instead grieving for their own Rabbit — the slain broadcast journalist Cirilo Gallardo.
Gallardo’s DJ name was Gio Rabbit, but friends called him Tootz Cyril.
It started at 8:45 Monday morning when one Facebook friend wrote this on Tootz Cyril’s wall: “Was it really you, Sir?”
Tootz Cyril, or Cirilo Gallardo, was a 38-year-old AM and FM announcer and disc jockey of the church-owned DZPA Puso ti Abra (Heart of Abra) radio station. He also taught computer and mathematics subjects to the elementary pupils of the diocesan school Divine Word College of Bangued (DWCB) for the last 17 years.
Gallardo was found dead in a prone position under a pile of clothes inside his room in Barangay Bangbangar, Bangued in the early morning of Jan. 31. He was stabbed 13 times with an ice pick and a double-bladed knife. Police suspect that he had been dead for two days when his body was discovered by his 19-year-old niece Joan Beroña.
At 9:20 the same morning, another FB friend followed up the earlier query, posting “Sir? Kamusta ka (How are you)? Tell me, it isn’t true…”
It was as if denial, the first of the five stages of grief, was at work even at the social networking site.
After the two wall posts, a barrage of condolences and messages of “rest in peace” and “we will miss you” followed. Friends, fans, former and present pupils, including colleagues everywhere, did not stop posting on Gallardo’s wall in the hope the message would still reach him. Hundreds of posts from most of his 1,788 friends — ranging from cry for justice to tribute to his kindness — could now be read on his Facebook wall.
Parents of his students also expressed their gratitude to Gallardo, with one mother posting this: “Sir, thanks for the time you shared with my kids when they were still studying in DWCB. You were such a good teacher and a nice friend to them. We will never forget you. So long…may you rest in peace.”
Born on March 18, 1972, Gallardo finished BS Education at the DWCB in 1994. He completed his elementary education at the Velasco Elementary School in Tayum and high school at the Saint Joseph Seminary in Pidigan.
On Tuesday afternoon, members of the Journalists and Correspondents Club of Abra (JACCA) initiated a motorcade for justice around Bangued. It was attended by more than 50 people, culminating at the DWCB for a necrological service for Gallardo.
Rose Marie Collo, JACCA member and Gallardo’s co-worker at the radio station, estimated that 100 motorcycles and 50 vehicles joined the motorcade from DWCB to his hometown in Velasco, Tayum,
“Many came out of their houses (on our way to his hometown) and waited on the streets to raise white and black ribbons to signify their sympathy and hope for justice,” Abra Today reporter and another JACCA member Rowena Badiang said.
The show of support came as no surprise. Gallardo, after all, was one of the most known community servants in the province. Aside from being a Spirit FM DJ, he made regular public service announcements and covered news during elections and special church occasions.
He was also usually requested to play the organ or the piano and sometimes even sing at weddings, funerals and regular masses.
“Cyril was one of the most sought after people for community service because he was very talented and always made himself available,” Abra Philippine Information Officer and JACCA Consultant Maritess Beñas said.
In fact, he was last seen by many people at a 50th wedding anniversary celebration where he was the organist. Irene Bringas, manager of the Abra Diocesan Teachers and Employees Multipurpose Cooperative (ADTEMPCO) of which Gallardo was Election Committee Chairman, said she dropped off the latter before 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the radio station after the wedding.
With the evident overwhelming love and support for Gallardo, it is no wonder that friends and colleagues are now expressing disappointment over the slow police action.
Aside from police’s prioritization of regional media, JACCA president Joselito Bigornia of DZPA questioned the content of the text message update sent to Baguio-based media by the police which stated that the victim “is frequented by a male friend believed to be his bf now being sought by the investigators.” In the press release sent through email by the Abra Police Provincial Office, the italicized phrase was removed.
It was the initial text release that overshadowed the fact that Gallardo was a media colleague, Bigornia said.
In 2004, Cordillera police also gave a gay angle to the killing of Kalinga community journalist Stephen Omaois.
On the malicious text message of the police, Beñas reacted: “(Gallardo was) a good person, and even if he had imperfections that those who do not know him see, this does not give anyone a reason to make fun of his life.”
According to Police Senior Superintendent Amando Lagiwid, both local and regional media were given a press release at the same time. He also said the Abra police are doing everything to prepare airtight investigations so that cases will not be dismissed in court.
Police have yet to identify the suspects in Gio Rabbit’s murder.
Killings of politicians and their supporters are common in Abra because of intense political rivalry. This is the first time, however, that a media practitioner was slain.