20 Oct 11 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
A radio commentator in the Philippines was shot dead on 14 October. Datu Roy Bagtikan Gallego was shot dead on the national highway in Sitio Mamprasanon, in Lianga town during an ambush. Gallego, who often criticised mining operations and spoke in defence of tribal rights was due to start a new slot on a radio program this week with 92.7 Smile FM San Francisco. Gallego’s death comes one week after the murder of fellow journalist Johnson Pascual. Lianga Police have not yet identified any suspects or a motive for the murder.
10 Oct 11 | Index Index, minipost
A newspaper editor was shot on Friday while driving through the Philippines‘ main island, Luzon. Johnson Pascual, editor-in-chief of local newspaper, Prime News, was shot by two men on a motorcycle in Isabela province, Northern Philippines on Friday morning. Following the shooting, where Pascual was hit in the head and torso, the journalist lost control of his vehicle and drove it into a ravine, where he died. It is currently unclear whether Pascual’s murder was related to his work as a journalist.
05 Sep 11 | Index Index, minipost
In what is reportedly the first time that a Philippine Supreme Court justice has filed a libel case against anyone including a journalist, reporter Marites Danguilan Vitug was forced to post P10,000 (145 GBP) bail on Friday on charges that she had defamed Supreme Court Justice Presbitero Velasco in a recent book. In the book, Shadow of Doubt, Vitug quoted residents of the Marinduque constituency as saying the Supreme Court justice was active in inviting two local officials to run with his son as councillor and promising to underwrite campaign expenses.
25 Aug 11 | Index Index, minipost
Two gunmen on a motorcycle shot radio commentator Niel Jimena, 42, on Monday night near his home in the Negros Island town of E.B. Magalona, Philippines. He was riding his own motorcycle when he was shot, and died of multiple gunshot wounds before arriving at a local hospital. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said in a statement that police have not determined a motive in the case or whether the killing was work-related. Jimena broadcast political commentary on DYRI-RMN Radio in nearby Iloilo City.
