Ex-PDI reporter shot dead in Batangas

Social media accounts

After that, Magsino surfaced through Facebook by creating public accounts called the “Barako Batangas” and “Taga Bauan Ka Kung…” Here, Magsino made public her tirades against certain Batangas government officials.

Magsino hailed from Bauan, Batangas.

Hours before she was gunned down, Magsino posted a tirade, supposedly meant for Bauan Mayor Ryan Dolor.

In a phone interview, Dolor admitted he and his family were not in good terms with Magsino but denied he had anything to do with her killing.

“She had been attacking us even during my father’s term as mayor. Ask around and you’d know what kind of reporting she practiced,” Dolor said.

Incidentally, it was the birthday of Dolor’s father, former Bauan Mayor and Batangas board member Herminigildo Dolor on Monday.

The Batangas City police chief described Magsino as having “many enemies” based on her social media account where she was “hitting several politicians below the belt.”

The observation was shared by Magsino’s friend and former classmate, who requested not to be identified. The friend said Magsino had seemed to have gathered many enemies because of the criticisms and tirades she had posted on her former local newspaper and on her Facebook account.

Bauan councilor

Last Sunday, Magsino posted on her Facebook account that she was receiving obscene messages and photos in the past two days.

“When I had the IP address traced, this is what we got. Konsehal ng bayan ng Bauan, Batangas pala ang gumagawa, (A councilor of Bauan, Batangas was the culprit),” said Magsino.

She posted Facebook links with IP addresses of Kelvin Gimeno, Panganiban Jeff and Paradise Andrew.

Police said they were exploring all possible angles related to Magsino’s killing, including reviewing her social media activities.

Seeking NBI’s help

The family, however, refused to surrender Magsino’s personal effects, such as her cell phone, to the local police, and sought instead an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation. The family did not disclose the reason for doing so.

“Even if they’re uncooperative, we’d still do our job because it took place in our jurisdiction,” Castillo said.

NUJP Batangas chapter chair Arnel Ozaeta said that while Magsino no longer practiced journalism as a profession, the organization still condemned her killing.

Long list

Before Magsino was shot dead, a Filipino journalist was killed in February.

On Feb. 14, radioman Maurito Lim was shot dead in front of the dyRD radio station in Tagbilaran City, Bohol province, by a lone assailant.

Lim was the 31st journalist killed under the Aquino administration, according to NUJP.

Since 1986, 173 journalists have been killed in the country. This count includes the 32 media workers who were killed in election violence in Maguindanao province in 2009. The 32 media workers were among the 58 people killed in an ambush on Nov. 23, 2009, the worst election violence in Philippine history.

The Ampatuans, a political clan, were tagged the masterminds of the massacre.

Perpetrators unpunished

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Philippines is among the top three countries where the murder of journalists is most likely to go unpunished, ranking third after Iraq and Somalia.

In the latest Global Impunity Index released last year in May, CPJ said: “Fresh violence and a failure to prosecute old cases kept Iraq, Somalia and the Philippines in the three worst slots on the index.”

Last year, three Filipino journalists were killed—Sammy Oliverio, Richard Nadjid and Rubylita Garcia.

Oliverio, who hosted several programs on local radio stations in Digos City, Davao del Sur province, was shot twice in the head and nape by two men riding on a motorbike on May 23, 2014,

Broadcaster Nadjid of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi province, was killed on May 4, 2014.

Aside from being a spinner at the dxNN Power Myx FM in Tawi-Tawi, Nadjid also handled the station’s daily public affairs program.

Garcia, a correspondent of the tabloid Remate, died five hours after two gunmen shot her in front of her 10-year-old granddaughter in her house in Bacoor City on April 6, 2014.–With reports from Julie M. Aurelio and Inquirer Research

Originally posted: 2:24 PM | Monday, April 13th, 2015

UPDATED STORY: Former Inquirer correspondent operating a health clinic at time of death