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Two tabloid columnists who wrote about corruption shot dead in QC
(Updated 4:11 p.m.) Two columnists of a tabloid were shot dead in Quezon City before dawn on Wednesday.
The victims were identified as Richard Kho and Bonifacio Loreto. Kho's daughter Richelle Ofelia said that Kho and Loreto had criticized corrupt politicians, which may have been a reason for the killings.
The victims were identified as Richard Kho and Bonifacio Loreto. Kho's daughter Richelle Ofelia said that Kho and Loreto had criticized corrupt politicians, which may have been a reason for the killings.
The police are now gathering leads on the killing that occurred along Pilot Drive in Barangay Commonwealth, radio dzBB reported.
Loreto and Kho were chatting in front of a store when two armed men approached and shot them before fleeing, according to the police.
Loreto and Kho were chatting in front of a store when two armed men approached and shot them before fleeing, according to the police.
A separate entry on the Twitter account of dzBB said the two victims wrote columns for "Aksyon Ngayon" newspaper.
Balitang Balita Headline 2 kolumnista ng pahayagang Aksyon Ngayon patay matapos pagbabarilin sa QC kanina ng madaling araw.
— dzbbGMA (@dzbbGMA) July 30, 2013
The relatives told radio dzBB that the two victims had no known enemies.
The police are looking for leads that would establish the motive for the shooting.
The National Press Club, meanwhile, denounced the killing of the two, calling it "another slap on the face of the Aquino government and an affront to press freedom."
"Media killers are getting bolder each day primarily because the government is inutile in solving similar crimes and in protecting journalists,” said NPC president Benny Antiporda in a statement.
He added that the killing of Kho and Loreto "behooves the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies to do their job of ensuring the protection not only of mediamen but ordinary Filipinos as well.”
The NPC statement noted that Kho was a "card-bearing" member of the group. Antiporda said Kho was also a sportswriter for Remate before working for People's Balita.
According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, investigators said Aksyon Ngayon ceased operations in March this year. Aksyon Ngayon is also not on the list of accredited members of the Philippine Press Institute.
However, the NUJP said it is still possible that Kho and Loreto were killed in connection with their jobs.
"It doesn't discount the possibility that they were killed for what they wrote," Rupert Francis Mangilit, NUJP Sec. General told GMA News Online.
If the deaths are found to be work-related, Kho and Loreto would be the 16th and 17th journalists killed in the line of duty under the Aquino administration. "There are already two for this year. If ever, they would be third and fourth," Mangilit said.
NPC: Killing 'affront to press freedom'
NPC: Killing 'affront to press freedom'
The National Press Club, meanwhile, denounced the killing of the two, calling it "another slap on the face of the Aquino government and an affront to press freedom."
"Media killers are getting bolder each day primarily because the government is inutile in solving similar crimes and in protecting journalists,” said NPC president Benny Antiporda in a statement.
He added that the killing of Kho and Loreto "behooves the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies to do their job of ensuring the protection not only of mediamen but ordinary Filipinos as well.”
The NPC statement noted that Kho was a "card-bearing" member of the group. Antiporda said Kho was also a sportswriter for Remate before working for People's Balita.
As of 2013, the Philippines was ranked the third most dangerous place for journalists, based on its impunity index rating by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
In 2009, the year of the Maguindanao massacre, the Philippines was ranked the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. — with Carmela G. Lapena/KG/VVP/HS/KBK/RSJ, GMA News
