DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a radio broadcaster in the southern Philippines late Thursday, the second attack against journalists in the region this month, officials said today.
Fernando Solijon was killed shortly after visiting a friend in Buruun village, Lanao del Sur province.
Solijon, a public affairs commentator for the DXLS radio station, sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body and head. The suspects fled on a motorcycle after the shooting.
Early this month, a photojournalist for a local newspaper in General Santos City was also shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen.
International media watchdogs tagged the Philippines as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, with over a hundred media workers already murdered since democracy was restored in the country in 1986.
The worst attack against Filipino journalists occurred in Nov. 23, 2009 when gunmen loyal to a powerful political clan kidnapped and killed over 50 people, including 33 journalists, in the province of Maguindanao.