Newspaper publisher killed after release of column on drug trade

The publisher of a local newspaper in Catanduanes, Larry Que, was killed on Tuesday right after the release of his column criticizing local government’s purported carelessness that allowed a recently discovered shabu lab to be set up in the province.

The publisher was shot in the head on Monday by a motorcycle-riding gunman after the publication of the said column.

His column in the two-week old Catanduanes News Now spoke out against local government heads on their negligence and the shame the laboratory’s discovery had brought to the province. He also alleged that the province’s Chinese residents helped other Chinese nationals set up the laboratory.

Que’s murder has sown fear within the local media community, especially among those who earlier reported about the shabu laboratory, which has been said to be the largest drug manufacturing facility discovered in the country.

Jinky Tabor, a local journalist and broadcaster, said she received threats after acting as a media witness in a police raid on the shabu lab.

Local government officials of Catanduanes denounced the murder of Que. Governor Joseph Cua said that despite their acknowledged differences on many issues, he respected the newspaper publisher. JE/rga

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