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Philippines President Condemns Killing Radio Anchor

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MANILLA (Worthy News) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered a police investigation after a popular radio anchor was fatally shot by a man inside his southern Philippine station’s home studio on Sunday.

The gunman gained entry into the home-based radio station of provincial news broadcaster Juan Jumalon, better known as ‘DJ Johnny Walker’, by pretending to be a listener “with something important to say,” according to investigators.

He then shot him twice during a live morning broadcast in Calamba town in Misamis Occidental province, police said.

The shooting of Jumalon was witnessed by horrified people watching the program live on the Facebook website, several sources said.

Soon after, the bespectacled Jumalon, 57, paused and looked upward at something away from the camera before two shots rang out, video footage showed.

He slumped back, bloodied, in his chair as background music played on. His wife tried to save her husband’s life, but he passed away of his injuries while on the way to the hospital, officials said.

The Philippine Journalists Association (NUJP), the press freedom watchdog in the Philippines, condemned the killing and noted that Jumalon was “a trusted voice” to listeners of 94.78 Calamba Gold FM.

PRIVATE HOME

“The attack is especially reprehensible because it took place in Jumalon’s private home, which also functioned as a studio,” the group added. He was the fourth journalist to be killed in the Philippines within a year.

Jumalon was the 199th journalist murdered in the country since 1986 when democracy returned after a “People Power” uprising toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the father of the current president, and forced him and his family into U.S. exile.

In 2009, members of a powerful political clan and their associates gunned down 58 people, including 32 media workers, in a brazen execution-style attack in southern Maguindanao province. It was the deadliest single attack on journalists in recent history.

While the mass killing was later linked to a violent electoral rivalry typical in many rural areas, it also showcased the threats faced by journalists in the Philippines, observers said.

The poverty-stricken Southeast Asian nation has also seen an influx of unlicensed guns and private armies controlled by powerful clans.

Weak law enforcement in rural regions and extrajudicial killings of investigative reporters and others are among the security concerns journalists face. The country has also faced criticism over its press freedom record and extrajudicial killings.

However, President Marcos Jr. said, “Attacks on journalists are not tolerated in a democracy.” He stressed that “Those who threaten press freedom will bear the consequences.” Yet on Monday, police were still searching for a suspect whose motives remained unclear.