Juan Jumalon during his radio show, Calamba, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. © 94.7 Gold FM Calamba/Facebook
A gunman pretending to be a radio listener shot dead a radio journalist in his studio in an awful attack witnessed by people watching the programme live on Facebook on Tuesday, 22 October, in the Southern Philippines.
The gunman gained entry to the home-based radio station of Juan Jumalon, a provincial news broadcaster, and shot him dead. He then shot him twice during a live morning broadcast in Calamba town in Misamis Occidental province, police said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Philippine authorities to launch a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of radio anchor Maria Vilma Rodriguez, who was shot three times in a store near his home.
“The killing of radio reporter Maria Vilma Rodriguez shows that the murderers of journalists remain undeterred in the Philippines,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government firmly moves to end impunity, these heinous crimes against the press will continue.”
Rodriguez, who presented 105.9 Emedia FM’s news program Barangay Action Center, was killed by a lone shooter in Zamboanga City on the southern island of Mindanao.
The Office of the President issued a statement condemning the October 22 killing and called for a “swift and impartial probe.”
Philippine National Police spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo told a press briefing that Rodriguez was shot by a relative over a land dispute following an argument the previous day. The suspect had been arrested, he said.
The Philippines ranked eighth on CPJ’s most recent Impunity Index, a global ranking of countries where journalists’ murderers are most likely to go free.
