Filipino journalist killed

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 20, 2010) – An unidentified gunman shot dead a Filipino journalist in an attack in the southern Philippines, police and media reports said.

Police said Nestor Bedolido, who wrote for the newspaper “Kastigador” was shot on Saturday night in Digos City. He was the third journalist killed in recent weeks.

The motive of the attack was unknown and police said it launched an investigation to the murder of Bedolido.

Last week, broadcasters Jovelito Agustin and Desiderio Camangyan were killed in separate attacks. Agustin was fatally shot in Laoag City in northern Philippines while Camangyan had beekn killed in Davao Oriental province.

More than 100 journalists had been killed in the Philippines since President Gloria Arroyo came into power in 2001. (Mindanao Examiner)

Ex-reporter killed in ambush in Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 14, 2010) – A former radio reporter was fatally ambushed Wednesday in the restive southern Philippine region, where at least 32 media workers were also brutally killed last year.

Media reports said gunmen opened fire at Edwin Segue in Ozamiz City. Two gunmen attacked Segue, who was driving his vehicle to Clarin town in Misamis Occidental province, the ABS-CBN Television said, quoting reports from the police.

The motive of the attack was unclear, but police said it launched an investigation into the murder.

Last year, gunmen also murdered 32 journalists who were accompanying a political caravan in Maguindanao province. At least 57 people were killed in the attack blamed to the powerful Ampatuan clan, police and military said.

Most of the clan’s influential members, including its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Snr ands his son and namesake, were eventually arrested after witnesses to the brutal murders accused them of masterminding the massacre, an allegation they strongly denied. (Merlyn Manos and Becky de Asis contributed to this report.)

Suspect in journalist's murder arrested in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 14, 2009) – Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a newspaper publisher after four years into hiding in the Philippines.

Nilo Morete was arrested in Mabalacat town in Pampanga province. He was implicated in the murder of Philip Agustin, publisher and editor of Starline Times Recorder, in 2005.

Police are still hunting down his alleged accomplice Manuel Alday. A town mayor was also linked to the killing of the journalist.

The Philippines has been tagged as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Dozens of journalists have been killed since 2001 in the country under President Gloria Arroyo’s watch. (Mindanao Examiner)

Muslim preacher killed in South RP

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 22, 2009) – An unidentified gunman shot dead a Muslim preacher who was also a radio broadcaster in an attack in the restive region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, police said on Thursday.

Police said Ustadz Badrodin Abbas, who held a block time radio program over dxCM in Cotabato City, was shot twice in the head at around 9 p.m. Wednesday along Sinsuat Avenue.

Abbas, 38, was driving his mini-jeep when a passenger shot him from behind and escaped after the attack, said Senior Supt. Willie Dangane, chief of police force in Cotabato City.

He said a security camera was able to take footage of the crime.

“We are still investigating this case,” Dangane said, adding, the attacker could have mistaken Abbas for his brother, who regularly drives the jeep.

“This could be a case of mistaken identity. Abbas’ brother is the one usually who drives the jeep. We have reports that his brother is involved in a love triangle,” Dangane said without further elaborating.

Last month, gunmen also murdered Leo Luna Mila, 35, of Radyo Natin in San Roque town in the central Philippine province of Samar. Abbas was the 63rd journalist killed since President Gloria Arroyo came to power in 2001, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

The World Association of Newspapers said the Philippines is second to Iraq as the most dangerous place for journalists in the world. (Mindanao Examiner)

CPJ welcomes new charges in 2005 murder of Filipino journalist

The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened to learn that murder charges were filed in the 2005 slaying of investigative reporter Marlene Garcia-Esperat in the Philippines.

Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay have been charged Monday as the alleged masterminds behind the murder. Montañer and Sabay were Mindano Department of Agriculture officials who Garcia-Esperat had accused of siphoning off money from fertilizer purchases.

Charges against the two men had previously been dismissed in 2005. The Tacurong City Regional Trial Court, in which the charges were brought today, has yet to issue arrest warrants for the men, according to the Center for Media Freedom and responsibility, a local media rights group.

“We commend Philippine prosecutors, who have taken another step forward in finally bringing about justice in the cold-blooded murder of Marlene Garcia-Esperat,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “It is now up to the courts and prosecutors to press for a full resolution on this brave journalist’s murder.”

In March 2005, a gunman walked into Garcia-Esperat’s house in the city of Tacurong in Mindanao, the southernmost main Island of the Philippines. The gunman killed her in front of her family. Garcia-Esperat died instantly from the single bullet wound to her head. The gunman and his accomplice escaped from the scene on a motorcycle.

An anti-graft columnist for newspaper the Midland Review on Mindanao, Garcia-Esperat, 45, had been under police protection as result of recent death threats. According to local news reports, she let her two guards leave early for the Easter holidays before the killing.

Estanislao Bismanos, Gerry Cabayag, and Randy Grecia—the gunman, lookout, and co-conspirator—were given life sentences in October 2006 in a court in Cebu in the central Philippines, where the murder investigation had been moved at one point to ensure a fair trial and to protect witnesses. (CPJ)

Attacks On Journalists Continue In The Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 16, 2008) – A Filipino journalist was killed by an unidentified gunman in an attack just outside his house in the town of Magarao in Bicol region’s Camarines Sur province.

The victim, Ronaldo Julia, was shot three times in the body at around 11 p.m. on Friday, his wife said. “He was shot a few meter outside our house,” she said.

Julia was writing for the Weekly Informer newspaper and as a broadcaster at a local radio station.

Journalists held a vigil at funeral house where Julia’s body was brought and condemned the attack.

Last week, two broadcasters of the Radio Mindanao Network - Dennis Cuesta in General Santos and Martin Roxas in Roxas province – were also killed in separate attacks.

Roxas was the program director of Radio Mindanao Network's dyVR and auditor of the Capiz chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.Local and international media groups have also condemned the killings and urged authorities to immediately resolve the twin murders. (Mindanao Examiner)

Suspect In Journalist Slay Arrested In South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 30, 2007) – Police have arrested one of two men linked to the murder of a Filipino broadcaster in the southern port city of Davao.

Police said Oliver Antoc, 31, was nabbed on Friday night in Davao City by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group while buying a roast chicken for dinner. They also seized a .45-caliber pistol from Antoc.

Two witnesses in the killing of Ferdinand Lintuan also pointed to Antoc as the gunman who shot the journalist inside his car on December 24.

It said it would file criminal charges against Antoc based on testimonies of the witnesses. It was unknown whether Antoc is a member of the Davao Death Squad or who ordered the killing of the journalist.

Two motorcycle gunmen killed Ferdinand Lintuan as he was driving his car.
Lintuan’s killing was previously blamed on the vigilante group called the Davao Death Squad, which is believed behind hundreds of extra-judicial killings the past years in Davao City.

Most of its victims were suspected criminals and thieves, but relatives and families of those killed have accused policemen as behind the Davao Death Squad.

Police gave no details about its investigation into the killing, but Lintuan's murder was not the first in Davao City. Several journalists had been murdered in the past in Davao and among them were Ed Palomares, Cezar Magalang, Narciso Balani, Rogie Zagado in 1987 and Juan Pala Jr., in 2003.

Five journalists had been killed and two others wounded in separate attacks in the Philippines since early this year, according to the National Union of Journalists.

The Philippines is branded as one of the most dangerous place for journalists because of unresolved killings. Dozens of journalists were killed the past years and most of the cases remain unresolved.

More than 900 people, among them political activists, have been killed and hundreds are still missing since President Gloria Arroyo took office in 2001, according to the United Methodist News Service. (Mindanao Examiner)

Reporters Sans Borders Calls On Philippines To Resolve Killing Of Broadcaster

Reporters Without Borders calls for energetic measures from President Gloria Arroyo to quickly track down the murderers of Ferdinand Lintuan, a radio programme host and well-known critic of local officials, who was gunned down this morning just after leaving his radio station, DXGO Radio, in Davao City (on the southern island of Mindanao).

Station manager Raul Antopuesto said he had no doubt that Lintuan was murdered because of his work as a journalist.

”On this Christmas Eve, the Philippine press community has again been hit by a terrible murder. The method used leaves no doubt that it was a targeted killing of a journalist who had criticized local politicians. President Arroyo and the national police chief have a duty to give the local investigators all the resources they need to catch the gunmen and those who put them up to it,” it said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Nicknamed “Batman” by his colleagues, Lintuan is the fifth journalist to be killed this year in the Philippines. Reporters Without Borders believes that Carmelo Palacios of dzRB Radio ng Bayan, murdered in April, was the only one of the other four who was killed because of his journalistic work.

Two men riding a motorcycle and wearing helmets shot Lintuan at close range as he drove away from the radio station in a car with two fellow journalists, Louie Ceniza and Edgar Banzon. Hit in the head, he died instantly.

Aged 51 and the father of four, Lintuan had often criticized local politicians, including the Davao City government, on the air. He had, in particular, accused local officials of corruption in connection with the “People's Park,” a local development project which he called the “Crocodiles' Park.”

Lintuan was the first president of the Davao Association of Sports Journalists.

National police chief Avelino Razon said he has ordered an investigation and the creation of a special "Batman" task force. Presidential adviser Jesus Dureza said: “The government will not allow this criminal act to go unpunished.”

Another Journalist Killed In Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 24, 2007) – Unidentified gunman shot dead a radio broadcaster in a daring broad daylight attack in the southern Filipino port city of Davao, police said.

Police said Freddie Lintuan was instantly killed in the attack that occurred at around 10 a.m. “We still don’t know the motive of the killing. There is an investigation going on,” policeman Anthony Suniel told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

No other details were made available by the police, but extra-judicial killings are rampant in Davao, where several journalists also had been murdered in the past. Among them were Ed Palomares, Cezar Magalang, Narciso Balani, Rogie Zagado in 1987 and Juan Pala Jr., in 2003.

Last week, a freelance journalist, Romelito Oval Jr., was also killed and his body buried in a shallow grave on a remote village in Butuan City in southern Philippines.

To date, more than 900 people have been killed and hundreds missing since President Gloria Arroyo took office in 2001, according to the United Methodist News Service. Among the victims are dozens of lawyers, judges, and church leaders.

In Davao City, hundreds of people had been killed the past years and most of them were suspected criminals believed murdered by private gangsters belonging to the shadowy group called Davao Death Squad.

In October, a Filipino broadcaster, Jose Pantoja, was shot and seriously wounded in front of the Mindanao State University in Iligan City. The attacker fled after the shooting.

In August, unidentified gunman also shot and wounded another broadcaster, Manuel Kong, of the radio station dxSN, in Surigao City.

Five journalists had been killed and two others wounded in separate attacks in the Philippines since early this year, according to the National Union of Journalists.

The Philippines is branded as one of the most dangerous place for journalists because of unresolved killings. Dozens of journalists were killed the past years and most of the cases remain unresolved. (Mindanao Examiner)

Journalist's Killing Nears Resolution: CMFR

MANILA, Philippines - After three long years, the wheels of justice may finally catch up with the killers of a Filipino broadcast journalist, one of the 33 journalists killed in the line of duty during the Arroyo Administration.

Currently being tried in Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 54, the Roger Mariano case is moving towards a resolution. Two witnesses have positively identified Senior Police Officer 4 Apolonio Medrano and Basilio Yadao as the assassins of the slain journalist.

Medrano was a member of the Philippine National Police Criminal Intelligence and Detection Group and was assigned at the Cordillera Autonomous Region at the time of Mariano's death.

Arnold Guerrero, private prosecutor of Mariano's family, believes that the case could be resolved within the year, after four or five more hearings. He believes that "the prosecution has a strong case."

In the July 18 hearing, Isidro Madamba Jr., one of the prosecution's eyewitnesses to the crime, was cross-examined by the defense, headed by Atty. Eddie Tamondong.

Madamba narrated that he was passing by the road onboard his car when the incident took place. Madamba said that he could not identify with certainty the other two suspects since he only saw their backs when he passed by the road.

However, he was able to partially see the gunman's face when the latter glanced towards him. When asked by the judge to say if the person he saw that night was inside the courtroom, he pointed to Yadao.

Earlier, Alvin Turingan, a tricycle driver, had positively identified Medrano as one of the killers.

Turingan said he was driving on the highway behind Mariano who was on a motorcycle. He saw Medrano take a shot at Mariano. He added that Medrano, along with the other suspect, boarded a van after Mariano fell. Aside from Medrano, Turingan said that he also saw a short man, fitting Yadao's description, at the scene of the crime.

The case was transferred to the Manila RTC from the RTC Branch 15 in Laoag City after the Supreme Court, acting on a 13 July 2005 petition from Mariano's family, released a resolution dated 3 April 2006 ordering the transfer.

In the petition for change of venue, Guerero cited safety concerns for the witnesses and also the need for a more neutral court.

According to some reports, Mariano's wife, Alma, feared that witnesses to her husband's murder might be pressured, given the alleged influence of Medrano in the province.

The petition for the change of venue was also endorsed by the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc., which interceded with the Supreme Court for the prompt transfer of the case.

On June 19, 2006, Judge Benjamin Turgano sent Mariano's case records to the RTC executive judge in Manila.

Judge Manuel M. Barrios then directed the warden of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Jail on July 3, 2006 to transfer Medrano and Yadao to Manila.

The two suspects were remanded to the Manila City Jail on July 25, 2006, just two days before their arraignment.

On November 16, 2004, after examining the testimonies of Turingan, Madamba and the investigation of the police, Judge Francisco Quilala of the San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte Municipal Trial Court found probable cause to place Medrano and Yadao under custody, issuing a warrant of arrest and no bail.

Medrano was arrested on the same day which was also the day Rogelio Pambid, mayor of Marcos, Ilocos Norte, was killed. Medrano is also currently on trial for the murder of Pambid, who was gunned down in front of his daughter's business establishment while alighting from his vehicle.

Yadao surrendered to police on November 18, 2004.

On December 11, 2004, five drunken men claiming to be policemen barged into the Casa Llanes Hotel in Laoag looking for Emilio Llanes, who was then helping investigate the killing of Mariano.

When Carlos Llanes, the hotel's manager told the five unidentified men in civilian clothes that his brother was out of town, two of the men mauled him. Emilio stopped handling the case.

Lauren Polintang, Mariano's nephew, said that they had a hard time looking for a lawyer in Ilocos to handle the case.Guerrero, a Manila-based lawyer who was a friend of Mariano, took over the case from Emilio Llanes.

Roger Mariano, 44, was one of the most critical broadcasters in Ilocos Norte. Local officials feared and loathed being the subject of Mariano's hard-hitting commentaries in his popular radio program, say Mariano's colleagues.

"Roger Mariano in Action" was aired over dzJC Radyo Natin-Aksyon Radyo. Mariano – known as a fearless and critical journalist-- started in radio broadcasting in 1990. He would discuss the most controversial issues of the day in his program. More often than not, local officials were the subjects of his broadcasts.

On the night of July 31, 2004, Mariano announced over the air that he would be reporting a major story on a corruption scam he had uncovered in his next broadcast.

Mariano never got the chance to do so; he was killed that same night. He was gunned down between 7:30 to 8:00 pm (local time) by then unknown assailants while riding home on his motorcycle after his radio program. He was shot several times in the back and head.

Mariano was wearing a trademark belt bag that contained a disk with information about the alleged scams in a local electric company. His belt bag was missing when his body was recovered. Mariano's wristwatch and wallet were untouched.

From 1999 until his death, Mariano chaired the Board of Directors of the Peralta Multi-Purpose Cooperative. He also served as chairman of the Tomato Growers Association. Mariano had a degree in Economics from Laoag City's Northwestern University.

He started his career as a radio commentator for dzVR Bombo Radyo right after college. Mariano was known to be a critical commentator on government affairs. He usually tackled issues regarding the city police's handling of the anti-jueteng (illegal numbers game) drive.

He also discussed the alleged mismanagement and supposedly illegal transactions of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative. (CMFR)

10 Held In Killing Of Russian Journalist: AP

10 Held In Killing Of Russian Journalist: AP

MOSCOW - A Chechen crime boss, Russian police and security officers were involved in the death of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Russia's top prosecutor said Monday.

But he suggested that someone outside Russia masterminded the killing of the frequent Kremlin critic.

Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika spoke hours after announcing that 10 people were arrested in the October killing of Politkovskaya, a crime that has blackened the reputation of President Vladimir Putin's resurgent Russia.

Chaika's remarks echoed earlier statements by Putin and allies who have suggested Politkovskaya's slaying could have been plotted by Kremlin opponents abroad to damage Russia's image.

The prosecutor said investigators had determined that "only individuals located outside the bounds of the Russian Federation" could have had an interest in killing the journalist.

Politkovskaya, who criticized Putin and revealed human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot dead Oct. 7 in her Moscow apartment building. Her killing drew international attention, deepening Western concerns about Russia's course and compounding concern about the safety of journalists and Kremlin critics in the country.
Chaika said the killing was set up by a Chechen native who led a Moscow organized crime ring that specialized in contract killings, Russian news agencies reported.

According to the news agencies, he said people involved in Politkovskaya's killing were also involved in the 2004 shooting death of American magazine editor Paul Klebnikov and the killing last year of Russian Central Bank deputy chief Andrei Kozlov.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities said Monday they have arrested and will soon charge 10 people in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya — an outspoken critic of the Kremlin whose death sparked global concern about the safety of reporters in Russia.

"We have made serious progress in the case of the murder of the journalist Politkovskaya," Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika told President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks. "As of today, 10 people have been arrested in this case, and literally in the nearest future they will be charged with the commission of this grave crime."

Politkovskaya, a critic of Putin who exposed human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building in October.

Her killing drew international attention, compounding concern about the safety of journalists and Kremlin critics in Russia. Putin sparked outrage abroad when he seemed to dismiss Politkovskaya shortly after her killing, saying her influence on Russian political life was "very minor."

Chaika did not identify those arrested, or say when they were detained.

A Moscow district court approved the arrests of eight suspects in Politkovskaya's killing on Friday, city court spokeswoman Anna Usacheva said, suggesting the suspects were detained within the last few days. There was no immediate explanation for the different numbers of suspects.

Chaika's remarks were the first announcement of arrests in the Oct. 7 killing, which Western governments have urged Russian authorities to solve. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists said 13 journalists have been killed in contract-style murders since Putin took office in 2000.

There had been no word of specific progress in the case for months. In April, the journalists' advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said there appeared to have been no progress in the investigation, and called for an international commission or parliamentary inquiry if authorities produced no concrete and conclusive evidence.

Politkovskaya's killing came less than two months before the radiation poisoning death in London of Kremlin critic and former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko, which further damaged the Russian leadership's reputation abroad. Litvinenko blamed Putin for both his poisoning and the murder of Politkovskaya.

Days after Politkovskaya's death, Putin suggested her killing could have been plotted by Kremlin foes abroad to harm Russia's image, and his allies have made similar remarks about Litvinenko's death, pointing to Boris Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider who is one of Putin's fiercest critics and lives in Britain, where he has refugee status.

In November, Chaika said a possible foreign connection was among several theories being investigated in the Politkovskaya case.

Politkovskaya, who was 48, was a highly respected journalist whose tireless reporting chronicling the killings, tortures and beatings of civilians by Russian servicemen in Chechnya put her on a collision course with the authorities but won her numerous international awards.

She also wrote a book critical of Putin and his military campaign in Chechnya, documenting widespread abuse of civilians by government troops. And she was a persistent critic of Kremlin-backed Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, accusing his security forces of kidnapping and torturing civilians.

Much speculation about her slaying has focused on Kadyrov, who was prime minister of the war-scarred region when she was killed and became its president in March. He has denied involvement.

Alexei Simonov, chairman of the Glasnost Defense Foundation, a leading Russian media rights watchdog, said he and the staff of Politkovskaya's newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, knew of the arrests a week ago.

"I think these are serious arrests based on real evidence," Simonov said, asserting that the motive was "undoubtedly linked to Chechnya."

He said that those arrested likely included the shooter and accomplices who set up surveillance. But while he said he was confident investigators tracked down Politkovskaya's killers, he expressed concern that the truth about who was behind the slaying could prove more elusive.

He said the staff of Novaya Gazeta feared the authorities would "steer the case in the direction of London" and blame Politkovskaya's killing on Berezovsky.

Weeks after the killing the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that investigators were focusing on former Russian police officers linked to crimes against civilians in Chechnya.

Pointing to Russian prosecutors' unenviable record in solving journalists' slayings, Igor Yakovenko, head of the Russian Union of Journalists, voiced caution about the prosecutor's announcement.

"I really want to hope that we have reached a turning point, but I think we should wait for concrete results," Yakovenko said on Ekho Moskvy radio.(AP)

Police Hunt For Killers Of Journalists In Cebu

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Jul) – Police mounted a manhunt for the killers of a broadcaster who was shot in the central Philippine province of Cebu.

Geruncio Mondejar was shot and wounded on June 30 in Mandaue City and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the province, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said.

Mondejar, a commentator with the radio station dyRB, was waiting for a ride when two motorcycle gunmen shot him at close range.

The local media watch dog, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, condemned the killing, despite President Gloria Arroyo’s creation of a task force that will investigate murders of journalists in the country.

"Not a hundred 'Presidential Task Force Against Media Harassment' can stop attacks on journalists," the NUJP said.

Mondejar is the fifth journalist killed in 2007.

Last month, gunmen also killed a radio broadcaster Vicente Sumalpong and wounded another journalist Vema Andam, of the state-owned Radyo ng Bayan, in Tawi-Tawi province in southern Philippines.

More than five dozen journalists have been killed in line of duty since 1986 after the fall of the dictator President Ferdinand Marcos.

The killings are part of a culture of impunity in which political assassins and the killers of journalists are seldom punished, the CMFR said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Reporters Without Borders Urges Filipino Police To Arrest Murderer Of Journalist

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 26 Jun) - The international media watch group, Reporters Without Borders, on Tuesday voiced alarm about the plight of the local media after Vincent Sumalpong, a presenter on state-owned Radyo ng Bayan, was gunned down in Bongao, the capital of the southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi.

A colleague Vema Andam and companion Ruelan Hope Borja were also wounded by the hail of bullets. Sumalpong was the fourth journalist to be killed this year in the Philippines.
The police said witnesses identified a suspect, Nur Suang, from photos.

Suang, who has not yet been arrested, is also a suspect in the murder of a guest relations officer of a bar in Tawi-Tawi that Sumalpong had investigated. The identity of the possible mastermind is still unknown.

"The identification of a suspect should encourage the police and judicial authorities to cooperate closely to ensure that this is an exemplary investigation," Reporters Without Borders said. "The murderer and any instigators must without fail be arrested and brought to trial."

Reporters Without Borders regards the Philippines as one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press after Iraq. At least 53 journalists have been killed there since Gloria Arroyo took over as president in 2001.

Killer Of Journalist Is Identified

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 25 Jun) – Philippine police have identified the suspect in the fatal shooting Monday of a broadcaster of the state-owned Radyo ng Bayan in the southern Philippines.

Gunmen killed Vicente Sumalpong and wounded another journalist Vema Andam and their driver in the town of Bonggao in Tawi-Tawi island.

The three were on a motorcycle when gunmen ambushed them near the Sea Orchid Subdivision at around 5.25 a.m.

“We have identified the suspect in the killing of the journalist as Nur Suang, who was also involved in the June 20 murder of a female guest relation officer of a bar in Sanga-Sanga (town also in Tawi-Tawi),” Goltiao told reporters.Suang is still at-large, he said.

Goltiao said the survivors in the attack positively identified Suang from a photograph show them by police investigators. He said Sumalpong was helping the family of the slain woman file a case against Suang. (With a report from Juley Reyes)

Abu Sayyaf Assassins Killed In Clash In Southern Philippines

Photos of the two Sailani brothers, Anni and Iting, who were killed in a clash in Basilan island in the southern Philippines. The two men were implicated in the spate of terrorism and killings of soldiers and policemam, including a news photographer, in the restive Jolo island. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 21 Jun) – Philippine soldiers gunned down two notorious Abu Sayyaf assassins long wanted by authorities for the spate of killings and terrorism in the troubled southern region, officials said on Thursday.

Officials said soldiers, aided by civilian informants, stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout and killed brothers Anni and Iting Sailani in a clash Wednesday afternoon in Basilan island. A son of Iting Sailani was also wounded in the fighting.

“The two brothers were ruthless killers. They were behind the spate of killings of soldiers and policemen and even a journalist,” a regional army spokesman, Major Eugene Batara, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

The brothers were implicated in dozens of killings, including the murder of news photographer Gene Boyd Lumawag, who was shot in the head by a lone sniper on November 12, 2004 while on assignment for the local news agency Mindanews on Jolo island.

The Filipino government offered six million pesos rewards for their capture dead or alive.

Aged 26, Lumawag was preparing a report on Aid al-Fitr, the Muslim festivity that marks the end of Ramadan. He was hit by a 45mm bullet in the forehead as he was heading towards the pier in the town of Jolo to photograph the sunset, according to the media watch group, Reporters Without Borders.

Lumawag was one of dozens of reporters murdered and wounded in line of duty in the Philippines, tagged as the most dangerous place for journalist after Iraq. (Mindanao Examiner)

Reporters Sans Borders Urged RP Authorities To Investigate Murder Of Journalist

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 25 May) - International media group Reporters Without Borders on Friday urged Filipino provincial and national authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder of photojournalist Dodie Nunez, of the regional newspaper Katapat, which had criticised corruption.

It said the killing May 21 may have had political motives.

Nunez was returning home in Cavite province, south of Manila, when three motorcyclists stopped the bus he was on and shot him dead, wounding another person.

"Katapat editor Archie Gadang stood for provincial governor in elections earlier this month, since when the winner, Ireneo Maliksi, has sued him for libel. During the campaign, the paper had accused Maliksi of corruption," it said.

Several Filipino journalists have been killed in the wake of elections in revenge for often fierce criticism of local politicians. Roberto Ramos, also of Katapat, was killed by motorcycle gunmen on November 20, 2005.

The Philippines is one of the most dangerous country in Asia for journalists and dozens have been killed over the years in line of duty. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Murdered Filipino Journalist

ONE MESSENGER DOWN. Elizabeth Pastolero, widow of slain journalist Hernani Pastolero, looks at the body of her husband, as she is being comforted by Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, chief of police forces in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, in Sultan Kudarat town in Shariff Kabunsuan province. Gunmen shot and killed Pastolero, 64, editor of the weekly paper Lightning Courier, as he was sipping coffee in front of his house 19 February 2007.

Goltiao created “Task Force Pastolero” to focus and dig deeper in the investigation. Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Calderon stresses the need for the PNP to protect journalists who are under threats and make speedy probe on the murders. Dozens of journalists have been killed since President Gloria Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001, making the Philippines the most dangerous place for journalists after Iraq. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Mark Navales)

End Impunity In Philippines: Reporters Sans Borders

ON THE EVE OF THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY of the first killing of a journalist during Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency, Reporters Without Borders wrote to Arroyo Friday urging her to take energetic measures to put an end to impunity for the murders of journalists.

Slain on February 24, 2001, Muhammad Yusop was the first of many journalists to be killed since Arroyo became president. Reporters Without Borders is backing the national day of action against impunity organized by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

The anniversary has coincided with the publication of the findings of the Melo Commission and an investigation by the United Nations special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, Philip Alston.

Everything points to the involvement of certain elements in the security forces in the murders of journalists and political activists.

The letter called on President Arroyo to rapidly take the decisions that will enable the eradication of this kind of violence. "We are convinced that only way to consolidate the rule of law in the Philippines and to reinforce press freedom is to prosecute those responsible," the organization said.

Int'l Media Watch Dog Warns Of Devastating Year Of Bloodshed

The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) condemned the murder of journalists in the Philippines, Somalia and Afghanistan which bring the number journalists and media staff killed in 2007 to 18, a rate of killings that matches the record levels reached last year.

2007 is already turning into a devastating year of bloodshed for journalism, said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "

We have seen journalists come under fire in every region of the world. We must make sure that the killers do not get away with their crimes, but the stage is already set for another record year of journalist and media staff assassinations," he said.

Gunmen shot and killed Hernani Pastolero, 64, editor of the weekly paper Lightning Courier, as he was sipping coffee in front of his house in the town of Sultan Kudarat on the island of Mindanao, according to press reports.

On Saturday Rahman Qul, editor of government-run magazine Andkhoy was shot and killed by two armed motorcyclists in Afghanistan. Police accused the Taliban in the attack and said they had arrested a suspect in connection with the killing, a press report said.

These killings show the intense pressure that journalists face around the world, White said.

In armed conflict, journalists are too often regarded as troublesome and interfering by combatants who care little about the job that they do and who are cruelly insensitive to media victims. The recent passage of a United Nations resolution should make it clear that this cycle of impunity and callous indifference must end.

The IFJ says that the murder of Hernani in the Philippines starts off another year of tragedy for one of the worlds most dangerous countries beyond the borders of Iraq. Last year at least 13 journalists were killed in the Philippines and 49 in all have been killed since President Gloria Arroyo came to power in 2001.

Also this weekend The International Federation of Journalists backed Somali journalists calling for a full investigation into the killing of a radio presenter and union activist who was set upon and shot dead. According to the National Union of Somali Journalists Ali Mohammed Omar was killed in the early evening of Friday in Baidoa of Bay region in south-western Somalia.

The IFJ has confirmed that at least 15 other journalists have been killed this year.

Including the latest deaths 2 journalists have been killed in Africa, 2 in the Americas, 3 in the Asia Pacific region, 1 in Europe and 10 in the Middle East.

Arroyo Condemns Killing Of Journalist, Orders Police to Investigate Murder

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 20 Feb) – Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo on Tuesday condemned the killing of a journalist in the restive region of Mindanao, south of Manila, and ordered police to investigate deeper into the murder, her spokesman said.

Hernani Pastolero, editor of the weekly tabloid Lightning Courier, was shot by two gunmen Monday outside his home in Sultan Kudarat town in Shariff Kabunsuan province.

"We join the media organizations and the public in condemning this recent atrocity," Arroyo’s spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

President Arroyo, he said, "has already ordered the Philippine National Police to produce clear results in the soonest possible time in the investigation of the case.”

Police already formed the Task Force: Pastolero to help investigate the killing believed connected to a land dispute. But authorities were also investigating whether Pastolero’s work as a journalist was connected to the attack.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and international media watch groups condemned the murder. Pastolero was the first journalist killed this year. (Mindanao Examiner)