Filtered By: Topstories
News

Community paper editor killed in Isabela shooting


An editor-in-chief of a community paper in the northern Philippine province of Isabela was killed after being attacked by motorcycle-riding gunmen on Friday, the local police said. Chief Superintendent Rodrigo de Gracia, Cagayan Valley regional police director, identified the victim as Johnson Pascual, who works for a local paper called "Prime News." Police said the victim — a resident of Barangay Centro in San Agustin town — was also a bank manager of FICO Bank in Maddela town in QUirino province. Pascual became the latest victim of journalist killings since 1986. According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a total of 146 journalists have been killed in work-related cases since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986; 104 of them happened under the Arroyo administration and five under the current administration. Pascual's killing came barely two months after Iloilo-based radio commentator Niel Jimena was shot dead in Negros Occidental province last August 22. In 2009, Jimena had already survived a gun attack by an unidentified assailant near the Malogo Bridge in Victorias City. Killing of Pascual An initial investigation showed Pascual was driving his Isuzu Crosswind (plate number BCX 974) at about 7:30 a.m. when the two suspects shot him in the head and body. "[The shooting of the victim] caused his vehicle [to] plunge into the ravine that caused his instantaneous death," De Gracia said. Investigators said the assailants were seen fleeing toward the town proper of Alicia. A "dragnet operation" has already been launched to capture the attackers and determine if the crime was related to the victim's work as a journalist. — with Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT