MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker on Tuesday denounced the brutal killing of a radio anchor in Bansalan town, Davao del Sur.
Police reported that Orlando “Dondon” Dinoy, a reporter for online outfit Newsline Philippines and anchor for Energy FM, was shot six times inside his home on Saturday evening.
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He is the 21st journalist to be killed since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said.
"As we commemorate International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, we join the media community in condemning the brutal killing of radio anchor Orlando ‘Dondon’ Dinoy," detained Sen. Leila de Lima said in a statement.
“Another member of the media brutally slain. Another call for a prompt and impartial investigation," she added. "Another prayer, hoping that it will be the last of the killings."
"But it will never stop as long as impunity remains to be a state policy."
De Lima urged her colleagues to pass Senate Bill No. 1523, emphasizing the need to craft laws offering added protection to media practitioners.
"Our fight against human rights violations entails that we continue to push, vigilantly, for laws that will strengthen safety and security measures for those who are risking their lives to serve as critical voices of the people amid an environment of pervasive impunity," she said.
Under the proposed measure, it would be mandatory for media outlets to grant additional insurance coverage and hazard pay to journalists and other media workers on field assignments, including those who are assigned to cover disease-infected areas and disaster-stricken zones.
"There is a pressing need to safeguard the welfare of our journalists in light of the dangerous and even life-threatening circumstances they encounter on a daily basis," the bill's explanatory note reads.
"Thus, it is imperative that they be provided adequate social safety nets so as to create an environment where they can effectively perform their duties and serve as the medium where freedom of expression and information can truly thrive."
In a report this month, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists listed the Philippines at seventh place in its Global Impunity Index, with 13 murders of journalists still unsolved.
The country has been a mainstay in the annual index since it started in 2008.
— Bella Perez-Rubio with a report from Kristine Joy Patag