Former Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reporter Melinda “Mei” Magsino was right when she wrote back in 2005 that the list of murdered journalists in the Philippines was “too long.”
“I have to survive. I don’t want to become another statistic,” she wrote after receiving death threats for reporting on alleged corruption and illegal gambling activities of the late Batangas Governor Armand Sanchez.
BACK STORY: Ex-PDI reporter shot dead in Batangas
Sadly, her death adds another name to that list of journalists killed in the Philippines.
Magsino was the 32nd journalist killed in the country under the Aquino administration and the 173rd journalist murdered since 1986.
Worldwide, the Philippines is the third most dangerous country for journalists with 77 deaths excluding Magsino, according to the international Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
READ: Tribute to a journalist who feared becoming another statistic
Leading worldwide are Iraq and Syria where violence is rampant due to armed groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
See below some statistics from the CPJ on media killings worldwide.