Radioman shot dead in Negros Oriental

BACOLOD CITY—A radio broadcaster was shot and killed by two men in La Libertad town, Negros Oriental province, on Friday morning, police said.

Senior Insp. Danilo Santillan, La Libertad police chief, said Gabby Alboro, known as Kumander Agila, came from a cockfight and was on his way home to Guihulngan City when he was attacked by two men at Barangay Poblacion in La Libertad at 3 a.m. The gunmen fled on a motorcycle.

Alboro, 50, a radio block timer of DYJL in Guihulngan, was the third broadcaster murdered on Negros Island this year, after the gun attacks that killed anchorman Edmund Sestoso in Dumaguete City and radio reporter Julius Broce Barellano in San Carlos City.

Santillan said Alboro, who was running for councilor of Guihulngan, died from 13 bullet wounds.

Santillan said a personal grudge could have triggered the attack, noting that Alboro figured in a fight with a person at the cockpit arena, reportedly over a disagreement on bets.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)-Negros Occidental chapter condemned Alboro’s killing.

Marchel Espina, NUJP chapter chair, said while the motive of the killing had yet to be established, the group had asked authorities to look deeper into Alboro’s case.

Espina said Alboro was the 13th media worker killed under the administration of President Duterte. —CARLA GOMEZ