Radio reporter shot dead in the Philippines

“The killing of radio reporter Maria Vilma Rodriguez shows that the murderers of journalists remain undeterred in the Philippines,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government firmly moves to end impunity, these heinous crimes against the press will continue.”

Rodriguez, who presented 105.9 Emedia FM’s news program Barangay Action Center, was killed by a lone shooter in Zamboanga City on the southern island of Mindanao, according to news reports.

The Office of the President issued a statement condemning the October 22 killing and called for a “swift and impartial probe.”

Philippine National Police spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo told a press briefing that Rodriguez was shot by a relative over a land dispute following an argument the previous day. The suspect had been arrested, he said.

The Philippines ranked eighth on CPJ’s most recent Impunity Index, a global ranking of countries where journalists’ murderers are most likely to go free.