Radio reporter, Jose Bernardo gunned down in Quezon City, 29th journalist killed during Noynoy reign
Yet another journalist has been killed in the Philippines, clearly one of the most dangerous places on earth to practice the profession.
Image/NJUP Facebook page
Reporter and broadcaster for DWBL radio station and reporter for DWIZ, Jose Bernardo was shot dead by an unidentified assailant Saturday in front of a fast food restaurant in Brgy. Kaligayahan, Quezon City, Metro Manila.
Bernardo was parking his motorcycle in front of a fast food restaurant at about 9:00 pm when the lone gunman shot him at close range. The assailant then walked to a waiting motorcycle driven by a cohort. The suspects then fled the crime scene.
Bernardo died on the spot. He sustained two gunshot wounds in the head.
The police are yet to determine the motive for the killing, but investigators said that the incident could be related to Bernardo’s work as a journalist.
The Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said that Bernardo is the 29th journalist to be killed under the current Aquino administration, which came to power in 2010.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killing, saying: “The brazen manner in which Bernardo was gunned down outside a restaurant in Quezon City, underscored the impunity with which media killings and other extrajudicial murders continue to be committed because of government apathy towards human rights and its primary duty, to protect the lives of its citizens.”
“Under this administration, a large part of the blame should fall on Aquino, who has displayed a penchant for blaming practically everything wrong with his governance, or lack thereof, on the media, which can only embolden those who would impose the ultimate censorship – death – coupled with an utterly uncaring attitude towards the murder of journalists and human rights violations in general,” added NUJP.
The CMFR says if proven work related the killing of Bernardo will be the 150th case of a journalist killed in the line of duty since 1986
