A team from NBI Central Visayas exhumes the remains of slain broadcaster Rex Pepino Cornellio
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMs) has announced the exhumation of slain broadcaster Rex Cornelio Pepino’s remains in Negros Oriental, as investigators seek more evidence.
Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco, head of PTFoMs, said the request to exhume was sent by Pepino’s wife, Colleen, to President Rodrigo Duterte last year.
Egco said he facilitated the request with PTFoMs chairman Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Central Visayas to conduct the exhumation and autopsy of Pepino’s remains.
Dr. Rene Cam, the medico-legal officer of NBI Central Visayas, conducted the exhumation and autopsy at Sibulan Municipal Cemetery early this week.
Cam told PressONE.PH they recovered a slug from an unidentified firearm. He said the slug would undergo ballistic examination to identify what gun it was fired from.
The exhumation stemmed from Colleen’s request after discovering that out of the five gunshots of her husband, two had no exit points.
A special investigation team from the Negros Oriental Police recovered last year from a person of interest in Guihulngan City, a 9mm firearm which they claimed was used in the murder of Pepino.
Egco said investigators were building a stronger case against perpetrators.
Pepino was murdered by two masked gunmen on May 5, 2020, while riding with her wife on a motorcycle from his radio program in Dumaguete City. He is the third radio broadcaster killed in the city since 2018. Ryan Sorote