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Radio journalist shot dead in Mindanao

Killing marks 12th reporter killed since 2010
Radio journalist shot dead in Mindanao
Published: April 22, 2013 09:25 AM GMT
Updated: April 21, 2013 11:15 PM GMT

Armed men shot and killed a broadcast journalist on Monday morning in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay on the island of Mindanao, police said.

The victim was identified as Mario Vendiola Baylosis, a 33-year-old announcer on Radio Natin in the town of Kabasalan.

At least two motorcycle-riding gunmen shot Baylosis three times in the chest shortly before midday when he was on his way home, police said.

“He was rushed to hospital but died on the way," said Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Police could not say whether the killing of Baylosis was connected to his job.

Benny Antiporda, president of the National Press Club, said it is "not surprising" that media killings in the country were continuing as he called on authorities to solve previous cases.

"The government is not giving enough attention to the plight of journalists," he said.

Mindanao has remained a hot spot of journalist killings. The Philippines has recorded among the highest number of slain media workers of any country in the world in recent years.

In 2009, 34 journalists were slaughtered while trying to cover a local election in Mindanao’s Maguindanao province.

The National Press Club said that since 2010, 12 journalists have been killed in the Philippines.

At least 73 journalists have been slain here since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which ranked the Philippines the second most deadly country in the world for media workers in 2011, alongside Iraq.

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