2 charged in slay try on radioman

COTABATO CITY — Two men have been charged with the attempted murder of a radio broadcaster in Kabacan, North Cotabato, police said.

The journalist, Alberto Martinez, 46, identified the two men as those who ambushed him late Sunday as he drove home on his motorcycle in Kabacan town, municipal police chief Abello Junga—ya told reporters.

He said the two "hired guns" were still at large and a manhunt has been launched to find them.

According to Jungaya, the last editions of Martinez’s radio programs dealt with the spread of illegal drugs in Kabacan, a farming town.

Jungaya said the radio broadcaster had received death threats because of his advocacy against the illegal drug trade in Kabacan.

Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog, said the Philippines is the world’s most dangerous country for journalists after Iraq because the killers and masterminds are rarely punished.

Jean Francois Julliard, a representative of Reporters Without Borders, said at the end of a fact-finding visit that more journalists are killed in the Philippines not only because of a widespread gun culture, but due to the judicial system’s failure to crack down on the killers.

The Paris-based group has recorded 51 journalists killed in the Philippines since democracy was restored in 1986. Last year, it listed six slain Filipino journalists, and two this year.

"We think one explanation of the high number of journalists killed in the Philippines is the culture of impunity," Julliard told reporters.

"Why? Because... nobody has been arrested, nobody has been sentenced so they can repeat (the crime)," added Vincent Brossel, another group member. — John Unson, Evelyn Macairan and wire reports