A COMMENTATOR of Brigada News FM in Kidapawan City, Cotabato was gunned down on Wednesday evening, July 10.
A report from the Police Regional Office in Soccsksargen (PRO 12) identified the victim as Eduardo Dizon.
Dizon was shot dead by unidentified attackers while he was on board his vehicle along the National Highway in Kidapawan City, capital of Cotabato province.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said he ordered PRO 12 Director Eliseo Rasco to immediately conduct an in-depth investigation on the incident.
According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), Dizon was the 13th journalist killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016.
The NUJP condemned the incident and said it could have been work-related.
PNP spokesperson Colonel Bernard Banac assured that the PNP is committed to ensure the safety and protection of all journalists and members of the media.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who is also the Cabinet Officer for Regional Develooment and Security (CORDS) for Central Mindanao, vowed to utilize all government agencies in Soccsksargen to undertake an investigation into Dizon’s killing as well as the other unsolved killings in Kidapawan.
"These killings have to be solved and stopped and the victims' family given justice,” Piñol said in a Facebook post Thursday. (SunStar Philippines)