Radio reporter killed in attack in Southern Philippines

KIDAPAWAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 30, 2012) – Motorcycle gunmen shot dead a radio reporter in an attack Monday in the southern Philippines, authorities said.

It said Rommel Palma, 31, of Bombo Radyo, was killed at around 4 a.m. outside a hospital in Koronadal City where his companion, Rey Legario, was gathering news.

Bombo Radyo confirmed the attack and said the police launched an investigation into the killing of Palma.

Legario said he was gathering news in SouthCotabato ProvincialHospital when he heard gunshots and rushed outside to see Palmabloodied in their vehicle. Palmawas rushed to the hospital, but died later from multiple wounds.

He said he did not see the shooters, but claimed that Palma, who was working with Bombo Radyo the past 5 years, had no known enemies. The motive of the attack is still unknown.

Media groups condemned the killing.

The international media watchdog, Reporters without Borders, has branded the Philippinesas one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. It said most of the murders and physical attacks on journalists were carried out by paramilitary groups and private militias.

It said the Aquino government has still not come up with a satisfactory response to end the spate of killings and attacks on journalists, so these groups continue to enjoy a total impunity that is the result of corruption, links between certain politicians and organized crime, and an insufficiently independent judicial system.

More than 100 journalists had been killed in the Philippines in the past decades and most of the cases remain unsolved. (Mindanao Examiner)