Zambo broadcaster killed

Elvis Ordaniza

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A volunteer radio reporter was shot and killed by an unidentified lone man outside his house in Pitogo town in Zamboanga del Sur province on Tuesday night, according to police officials.

Elvis Ordaniza, 49, died from two bullet wounds in the chest, Chief Supt. Antonio Miguel, regional police director, said here on Wednesday. He was a volunteer reporter for radio station dxWO Power99 FM based in Pitogo and a rebel returnee.

Ryan Rosauro, national chair of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), condemned the killing in a statement. “Again, the culture of impunity, of nonaccountability, in the Philippines has claimed the life of a journalist,” he said in a statement.

Ordaniza was the first journalist killed this year and the 31st journalist or media worker slain since President Aquino came to power in 2010, according to the NUJP.

Miguel said the police had reactivated its Task Force Usig “to focus on the killing of one volunteer radio reporter.”

“The victim was cooking food for dinner and while picking up coconut shells to be used as firewood outside their house, he was suddenly shot by the unidentified suspect with a .45 cal. pistol,” said Chief Insp. Rogelio Alabata, information officer of the Western Mindanao police.

Alabata said Ordaniza was attacked around 7:10 p.m. outside his house in Bagong Silang in the town center. He was brought to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, he said.

The victim’s colleagues have claimed that he had been reporting on illegal drugs and illegal gambling in the town, according to Rosauro. But he said the NUJP was also looking into other angles, such as politics, behind the killing.

“Neither can we discount the possibility of intense partisan politics rearing its ugly head, this being an election year, when, traditionally, assaults and threats against media practitioners tend to spike along with rising tempers,” he said.

But whatever the reason, “one thing remains constant—it is government’s continued failure to prevent such killings and solve past cases (only a handful of killers have ever been convicted, none of them a mastermind) that emboldens those who would silence critical media,” Rosauro said.

The NUJP leader called on authorities to fulfill their duty to deliver justice as he urged journalists not to be cowed by the latest incident and should “remain committed to our duty of informing our audiences about the state of our communities and our nations as best we can.”

“We urge everyone, especially in this election year, to be mindful of each other’s safety, to promptly report all threats and other potential risks, and to uphold professional and ethical standards,” Rosauro said.

Candidates, political parties and the Commission on Elections must “help safeguard press freedom throughout the campaign period, the Election Day, and up until winners are proclaimed, and eventually sworn into office,” he added.

Known for its outspoken press, the Philippines is among the world’s most dangerous places for reporters, where powerful figures reckon on being able to kill critics with impunity.

Just 10 suspects have been convicted of attacks on journalists across the country over the three decades since the country embraced democracy in 1986, during which time more than 170 media workers have been killed.

While many of the victims had angered powerful figures, police say some of the killings were motivated by quarrels over personal or business matters.

One of the world’s deadliest attacks against journalists took place in the Philippines in 2009, when 32 journalists were among 58 people killed by a warlord clan intent on stopping a rival’s election challenge.

More than one hundred people are on trial for the massacre. With a report from AFP