Philippine journalist murdered, media groups demand protection, calling it a ‘blow to press freedom’
- Radio journalist Percival Mabasa was shot dead at the gate of a residential compound in Manila
- Media groups and activists have described his assassination as a blow to press freedom
A Philippine journalist has been shot dead while driving in the country’s capital, police said on Tuesday, prompting condemnation from media groups and activists, who described his assassination as a blow to press freedom.
Radio journalist Percival Mabasa, 63, was killed by two assailants at the gate of a residential compound in the Las Pinas area of Manila on Monday night, police said.
“That the incident took place in Metro Manila indicates how brazen the perpetrators were, and how authorities have failed to protect journalists as well as ordinary citizens from harm,” said the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.
The national police vowed to bring justice over the attack.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s office was concerned about the killing and officials had been tasked to look at the conduct of the investigation, senior deputy executive secretary Hubert Guevara told reporters.
It followed the fatal stabbing last month of radio journalist Rey Blanco in central Philippines.
The Philippines has one of Asia’s most liberal media environments, but it remains one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists, particularly in its provinces.