Manila, Nov. 10, (dpa/GNA) – A radio commentator who survived a 2016 assassination attempt was shot dead on Tuesday in front of his house in the northern Philippines, police said.
Virgilio Maganes, 62, was about to enter his house in the town of Villasis when two suspects pumped six rounds into him, according to a police report.
He was killed on the spot, the report said, adding that no suspects or motive have been identified.
Maganes is the 18th journalist to be killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) said.
He survived an assassination attempt in November 2016 by playing dead when gunmen riding a motorcycle shot him, the NUJP said.
“A sign was left near the scene that said, ‘Drug pusher, don’t imitate,” in what was seen to be an attempt to divert attention from the real motive for the slay try,” it added.
The Philippines has been ranked as one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists by press freedom groups, including the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
In 2009, 32 media workers were among more than 50 people killed in a local politician’s convoy heading to a rally in the southern region of Mindanao.
Ten years after the killing, a Philippine court convicted members of an influential political clan and dozens of supporters of murder for the worst election-related killing in the country.
GNA