Broadcaster wounded in another media attack (11:15 a.m.)
MANILA — A radio broadcaster was in critical condition Friday after being shot in the Philippines, prompting a city official to order police to “shoot and kill” his assailants.
Gunmen on a motorcycle shot Nilo Labares, broadcaster for Radio Mindanao Network in southern Cagayan de Oro city, late Thursday, police said. He was undergoing treatment at a hospital for a gunshot wound to the back.
Cagayan de Oro Vice Mayor Emano Labares said he could have been targeted because of his criticism of illegal gambling.
“He has stepped on a lot of toes,” he said.
Emano said he ordered police in the city of half a million people to take steps to deter further possible attacks on journalists by adopting a “shoot-to-kill” policy against assailants.
“My policy is for them to shoot the suspects if they resist. No more allowing them to flee. Besides, this may start a killing spree against the media,” he told radio dzXL.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s spokesman, Cerge Remonde, condemned the shooting and ordered the national police chief “to leave no stone unturned to ensure justice is done, to identify the killers.”
Political killings have long been a concern in the Philippines, where about 60 journalists have been slain since 2001, including six last year, making the country one of the world’s most dangerous places for reporters.
Government prosecutors earlier this year filed murder charges against a police officer in the August 2008 killing of Dennis Cuesta, program director of Radio Mindanao Network in General Santos City, also in the volatile southern Philippines. (AP)
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