Reporters Sans Borders is outraged by killing of broadcaster in the Philippines

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the murder of Leo Mila, a Radyo Natin presenter in San Roque, in the central province of Northern Samar.

Mila was gunned down at around 7 p.m. Tuesday by an unidentified person outside the station's studios in San Roque.

"The repeated, targeted murders of radio presenters are a disgrace for the Philippines," Reporters Without Borders said. "The safety of all the victim's colleagues is in danger if nothing is done to rein in the current wave of violence. The impunity must stop and the guilty must be punished."

Mila's body was found by his colleagues in a grassy area a few metres from the entrance to the station. They said they heard several shots but did not go out at once because it was dark. His motorbike was found lying on its side, not far from the body.

The manager of the San Roque branch of Radyo Natin, Alice Cargo, said Mila recently hosted a debate about anomalies in the collection of money from the parents of students at a local high school. Police planned to question two of the school's teachers, she said.

Carolina L. Montilla, the head of the local branch of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), said Mila was known for speaking out and had received threats for criticising local corruption.

Aged 35, he presented a programme every morning in which he addressed complaints sent in by listeners. He also wrote articles for various regional newspapers and recently published a local magazine An Peryodista. He is survived by his wife and two children.

He was the eighth journalist to be killed since the start of the year in the Philippines and the second Radyo Natin presenter to be gunned down in less than a month. Aristeo Padrigao, a Radyo Natin host in Gingoog City, in Misamis Oriental province, was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle outside a school on November 17 after dropping off one of his children.

Broadcaster in Northern Samar slain

A radio commentator was shot dead Tuesday night in San Roque town, Northern Samar in central Philippines. Local police identified the slain journalist as Leo Luna Mila, 35, of Radyo Natin.

Mila was reportedly on his way to work when shot in front the radio station in Barangay Poblacion around 7 p.m. by still unknown gunmen. He suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, according to PNP Provincial Director, Eusebio Mejos.

Mila was known for his hard-hitting commentaries. He is the seventh journalist killed this year, less than a month after broadcaster Arecio Padrigao, of Radyo Natin in Misamis Oriental was also shot dead by two motorcycle-riding suspects.

Of the seven slain journalists, five are radio broadcasters.

His murder raises to 62 the number of slain journalists under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s watch. (IFJ-NUJP Media Safety Office)

Filipino broadcaster shot dead in Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 17, 2008) – A Filipino radio broadcaster was fatally shot by a motorcycle gunman in an attack Monday in the southern Philippines, reports said.

Reports said Arescio Padregao, who held a program on dxRS Radyo Natin station in Gingoog City, was shot in the face by the gunman at around 7.15 a.m. Padrigao just brought his daughter to school when he was attacked, Radyo Natin reported.

The assailant, who was wearing a crash helmet, escaped after the attack. The motive of the killing is still unknown, but media groups have condemned the killing.

Padregao, a hard-hitting commentator who regularly criticized corruption in his radio program, was the 54th journalist killed in the Philippines the past years. He was the seventh journalist murdered since January.

In August, a radio and newspaper journalist, Ronaldo Julia, was also shot several times in Magarao town in Camarines Sur province in eastern Philippines. Julia was walking toward the Magarao town plaza close to his home when he was shot by an assailant, who escaped on a motorcycle driven by another man.

Julia was a reporter for dzGE radio and the Weekly Informer owned by his older brother, Mike Julia, in Magarao in Camarines Sur province, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) east of Manila.

The Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said the Philippines has become the “most dangerous place for journalists next to Iraq and the most murderous place in the world for journalists.” (Mindanao Examiner)