UCA News
Contribute

Photojournalist shot dead in Mindanao

Lone gunman murders Mario Sy in front of his family
Photojournalist shot dead in Mindanao
Published: August 02, 2013 07:09 AM GMT
Updated: August 01, 2013 09:33 PM GMT

Police have launched a murder hunt after a photojournalist was shot dead yesterday in General Santos City, on the southern island of Mindanao.

The killing comes less than a week after two journalists were gunned down in Manila.

Investigators said a lone gunman shot 53-year-old Mario Sy, a photojournalist with local tabloid Sapol (Hit), in front of his wife and daughter at their home in the city’s Dadiangas West district.

They say the motive for the murder has yet to be established.

Michelle Alquinto, chairman of the Photojournalists Center of the Philippines, called for a thorough probe into the killing, urging authorities to "act swiftly" and "stop the killings of journalists once and for all before we all perish."

Sy's killing comes on the heels of the murders of Richard Kho and Bonifacio Loreto, columnists for the Aksyon Ngayon (Action Now) weekly newspaper who were shot dead in Quezon City late on Tuesday.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said the murders of the columnists "might be work-related," in what is a rare case of Manila-based journalists being killed. 

Most journalists and media workers killed in the Philippines have been based outside Manila.

The Committee to Protect Journalists in New York says at least 74 journalists have been murdered in the Philippines since 1992.

The government has repeatedly vowed to stop the killing of journalists. President Benigno Aquino even created last year an inter-agency task force headed by the Justice Secretary to look into the killings.

"We will continue our efforts to stop the impunity against journalists, the extralegal killings," Lacierda said in an earlier statement, adding that the government is also looking at the motives of the killings to determine whether they stem from a victim’s work as a journalist.

Sy’s murder brings the total number of journalists killed this year to five and and the total killed during President Aquino's tenure to 16.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia