The gunman gained entry to the home-based radio station of Juan Jumalon, a provincial news broadcaster known also as DJ Johnny Walker, by pretending to be a listener. He then shot him twice during a live morning broadcast in Calamba town in Misamis Occidental province, The Guardian reported citing police.
The attacker snatched the victim’s gold necklace before fleeing on a motorcycle with a companion who had been waiting outside, police said. An investigation is underway to identify the gunman and establish if the attack was work-related.
The Philippines has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr strongly condemned the shooting and said he had ordered the national police to track down, arrest, and prosecute the killers.
“Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated in our democracy and those who threaten the freedom of the press will face the full consequences of their actions,” Marcos said in a statement.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a press freedom watchdog, said Jumalon was the 199th journalist to be killed in the country since 1986.
In 2009, members of a powerful political clan and their associates gunned down 58 people, including 32 media workers, in an attack in southern Maguindanao province. It was the deadliest single attack on journalists in recent history.
AMK/PR
