Camarines radio reporter shot

MANILA, Philippines - Even as authorities have yet to solve the first media killing under the Aquino administration, another journalist was attacked in Camarines Sur.

Initial reports said 48-year-old Miguel Belen, a reporter of radio dwEB, was in critical condition at a local hospital after he was ambushed by unidentified gunmen on his way home in Barangay San Jose Pagaraon in Nabua town late Friday.

The assault on Belen occurred just days after President Aquino ordered the police and military to jointly address attacks against members of media.

Police, however, said the attack against Belen might not have been motivated by his work as a radio reporter.

Senior Superintendent Jonathan Ablang, Camarines Sur police director, said the initial investigation indicated the attack against Belen could have been politically motivated.

Police learned Belen was a former barangay chairman who openly campaigned for a local candidate in the May 10 elections.

“We are looking at the victim’s political affiliations because we were informed that he actively supported and campaigned for a particular congressional candidate. We are still trying to confirm this,” Ablang said.

Ablang added the possibility that Belen might have been lured into a trap. He said police investigators are in possession of the victim’s cellular phone and are checking every call he had received just before he was ambushed.

Radio station manager Ric Arnedo said Belen had hurriedly left the station that evening.

Last week, Jose Daguio, 72, a reporter of a community newspaper, was killed in his house in Tabuk City, Kalinga.

Daguio was the first recorded journalist to be killed under the Aquino administration, and possibly the oldest to be slain in the line of duty.

Authorities, however, claimed Daguio was killed by cattle rustlers who suspected the victim of double-crossing them.

Over 100 journalists have been killed in the country, mostly during the nine-year administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said President Aquino is planning to create a super body to address media killings.

“The present administration wanted more teeth in handling media killings,” De Lima said.

“An executive order is already being drafted to create a super body to handle media killings,” she said.

De Lima made the announcement during a meeting with officials of the National Press Club and discussed the issue of killings of members of the media.

De Lima said the proposed task force will have extensive powers and authority to address media killings and give journalists more protection. -With Sandy Araneta and Cet Dematera