An unidentified gunman fatally shot the editor of a weekly newspaper in the southern Philippines, police said yesterday, the latest in a string of killings of journalists.
Hernani Pastolero, 64, was shot while sitting in front of his home in the village of Bulalo, about 910km southeast of Manila, police Superintendent Joel Goltiao said.
The attacker, believed to be a hired assassin, fled on foot, he said.
Inspector Ismael Mama said police had not determined the motive or found any suspects.
Pastolero was a radio journalist and editor of several publications before he started publishing his own weekly, the Lightning Courier.
His daughter, Eva Marie, said he had never mentioned death threats.
He joined a long list of journalists gunned down since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986.
The National Union of Journalists said at least 12 reporters were killed last year alone, bringing the death toll to 49 since 2001, when Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took power.
"This is again proof of how official inaction has bred a culture of impunity and emboldened those who seek to stifle freedom of the press and of expression in this country," said Jose Torres Jr, chairman of the union.
Torres called on police to "once and for all, show the world these killings are being addressed by the government."
International media watchdogs have described the Philippines as among the most dangerous places for reporters in the world, and have criticized the government for not doing enough to find the perpetrators.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said the Philippines and Afghanistan had the highest journalist deaths in the region last year. With three deaths each, the two countries ranked globally only behind Iraq, where 32 journalists were killed last year.
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