Radio journalist killed in Oriental Mindoro

MANILA, Philippines — A radio anchorman was killed last week by gunmen on a motorcycle in the western Philippines, police and media freedom advocates said.

Nilo Baculo Sr., who anchored a program at local radio station dwIM, was the 25th journalist killed in the Philippines since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010 and the 143rd since 1986, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said.

Senior Superintendent Ronaldo de Jesus, the provincial police chief, said Baculo was fatally shot in Oriental Mindoro's Calapan City last Friday.

Baculo, 67, had filed a petition in 2008 requesting court protection, saying he had discovered a plot by elected officials at that time to kill him after he had reported on their involvement in illegal drug deals, said his lawyer, Harry Roque.

The Supreme Court granted him temporary protection, but when the case was remanded to the Court of Appeals, the lower court denied Baculo's plea. It said he failed to prove his life was in danger.

"His killing today is what happens when the court errs in their appreciation of evidence," lawyer Roque said. "There is blood in the hands" of justices who refused to give Baculo protection, he said.