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Filipino journalist survives assassination attempt

Spate of violence against media workers goes on unchecked
Filipino journalist survives assassination attempt

Orly Navarro will reportedly have an operation to remove a bullet close to his heart (picture: Facebook)

Published: August 27, 2014 06:46 AM GMT
Updated: August 26, 2014 10:38 PM GMT

A radio journalist in Luzon survived being shot in the chest on Tuesday in the latest assassination attempt against a member of the Philippines media.

Orly Navarro, who is known as a hard-hitting journalist for dwlZ 89.3 FM News, was shot by an unidentified gunman near his home in Dagupan City, 200 kms north of Manila.

Navarro will undergo surgery to extract the bullet, which nearly pierced his heart, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

“The bullet wound to his chest will serve as an indelible reminder of this grim chapter in the history of press freedom,” said Joel Egco, president of the National Press Club of the Philippines.

Police said they spoke to three suspects directly after the attack, which came just days after Navarro had reported on drugs in his village.

His radio station has offered an US$11,400 reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman.

"We call on all law enforcement agencies, particularly the Philippine National Police, to leave no stone unturned in finding out the perpetrators and mastermind behind the attack on Mr Navarro," Egco said.

At least 25 journalists have been killed since President Benigno Aquino took office in 2010, most of them by assassins on motorbikes, making the Philippines the third most deadly country in the world for correspondents, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“This year, four media workers have already been brutally assassinated in the Philippines – Navarro could have been the fifth,” Jane Worthington, acting director of the International Federation of Journalists, said in a statement.

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