Mei Magsino slay: Love triangle, Facebook posts on jueteng among angles being probed

Mei Magsino's social media posts on illegal gambling; a debt she was told she couldn't collect; and a love triangle. These are some of the angles police are looking into as they investigate the killing on Monday of the former journalist in Batangas City.

According to Batangas City Chief of Police Manuel Castillo, Magsino had received death threats because of her reports on the illegal jueteng operations in the area.

"Kahit hindi na siya active sa print media, may mga webpage siya na nag-e-express din siya ng mga saloobin para sa kaninong tao o sa bayan," Castillo said.

In a Facebook post she wrote on Sunday evening, Magsino also said that she was receiving threatening messages.

"I have been receiving these bastos messages for two days na. When I had the IP address traced, this is what we got. Konsehal ng bayan ng Bauan, Batangas pala ang gumagawa," she said.

Aside from the jueteng expose, the police are not ruling out the possibility of a love triangle, since Magsino was separated from her husband.

Castillo also said that an unpaid debt was another possibility why the journalist was killed.

"Merong pina-blotter si Ms. Magsino na isang tao na nagkakautang sa kanya ng P81,000 na nagpunta sa kanilang bahay may kasamang lalaki at nagsabi na hindi na siya magbabayad," Castillo said.

According to information gathered by GMA News, Magsino was shot in the nape.
A few meters away, a motorcycle with a driver was already waiting for the killer for his escape.

The authorities said that they are looking at getting the footage from the closed circuit television camera of an auto supply near the crime scene to help them identify the suspects.

If Magsino's death is related to her work as a journalist, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said that she will be the 26th Philippine media worker killed under the Aquino administration.

Meanwhile, the Palace said that they are forming an intensive manhunt to find the suspects.

"Task Force Usig of the Philippine National Police is coordinating intensive police operations to pursue her assailants and bring the perpetrators before the bar of justice," Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

Although Magsino's family remains mum about her death, her loved ones believe that her past as a journalist was the reason for her killing. —Trisha Macas/NB/TJD, GMA News