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Who wants to kill Ramon Tulfo?
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
The Philippine Star 2009-02-26
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Who wouldn’t know Ramon “Mon” Tulfo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer? Mon is the veteran police reporter whose “On Target” column has found itself in the vortex of many a controversy.
In a way, Mon Tulfo reminds me of heavyweight boxing great Muhammad Ali. During his prime, Muhammad Ali drew the biggest gate because he attracted two types of people — those who idolized him (and paid to see him win) and those who hated him (and paid to see him lose). Mon Tulfo’s column is similarly followed.
There are many folks who follow his column because they get to read many things no other journalist dared to talk about — either for lack of access to the information source or for lack of guts to expose the information. Then too, there are those who opt to run to Mon Tulfo for succor whenever they feel that they cannot get any help from the authorities.
And then there are those who have the nastiest of things to say about Mon Tulfo. Thus, it won’t come as a surprise if indeed Mon Tulfo has the Philippine record for being the Most Sued Journalist for libel. And it comes as no surprise too that Mon was one of the 27 journalists that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo sued for libel.
However, as it now turns out, there are those who want more than just to sue Mon Tulfo for libel and want to see him jailed for that charge. There is now a credible threat to Mon Tulfo’s life. Some “well-placed persons” as he described them, want to see Mon Tulfo dead.
This was manifested in Mon’s February 12 column where he expressed his apprehension over the threat to his life.
Mon wrote: “Worried friends and relatives have called to ask who were the persons I was alluding to in my column last Tuesday who would want me silenced.
As I’ve said, I already told my lawyer and some close friends the identity of those persons.
I have no reason to doubt the source of the report about the threat to my life since the source is my friend and compadre.
Suffice it to say that the concerned persons are well-placed.
I have instructions that if something untoward happens to me, my lawyer and friends should come out with the identities of the possible suspects.
If the threat is carried out, this government is a crime syndicate.”
Mon Tulfo and your Chair Wrecker are not close friends. I only met Mon once, by chance at that, at the Pen lobby many years ago. I knew who Mon Tulfo is and he knew who I am although we were never introduced before that chance exchange of pleasantries at the Pen lobby. Your Chair Wrecker has had more opportunities to talk to Mon’s brother Erwin. Erwin has interviewed me by phone patch at least twice in his radio program.
A common friend I asked what he knew about the threat relayed to Mon that I had expressed concern about his safety. Then I got a surprise call from Mon himself who obviously received word from our common friend that I inquired on the threat to his life. Just as he informed his lawyer and close friends, Mon shared with me some of the details about the threat to his life.
Time and again, we have seen Mon Tulfo sneer at death threats when some of the dragons that he exposed threatened to silence him. This time I can sense that Mon was deeply concerned and he felt that this is no hollow bark but a really deadly bite from a rabid vicious animal.
Mon told me about that father and son team behind the sale of fake US dollars to an African government and the sale of US military hardware to the Abu Sayyaf. Mon also mentioned that a very powerful woman has reached boiling point and wants to see him dead.
In a second phone call a few days later, Mon informed me that he also told a former president about the threat to his life and that this former president encouraged him to tell as many people as possible about the threat and who is behind it.
In this second phone call, Mon also mentioned that he had previously angered a very powerful national public official for exposing (in another column) the sex orgies this national public official hosts on board a yacht. Mon said that he got the info from a participant of one sex orgy who even claimed that this national public official supplied the ‘slumber party’ with the illegal drug called Ecstasy.
“Is this government a crime syndicate” Mon Tulfo appropriately headlined his February 12 column. Indeed, what Mon talked about are powerful persons who behave like Mafia Dons by wanting those who expose them killed. They sell US military hardware to enemies of the State and fake dollars to another government. They hold sex orgies on board a yacht and give out Ecstasy.
The mastermind of the plot to kill Mon Tulfo will have to live with the fact that the sensitive information Mon shared with a lot of people can be considered a dying man’s testimony and as such it is accepted as truth in court.
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