Gunmen kill Philippine radio commentator
(4 Oct 2022) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Manila - 4 October 2022 ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 1. Wide of protesters holding banner reading (English) "Stop the killings" while chanting UPSOUND (English) "defend-defend press freedom" 2. Close of protester UPSOUND (English) "defend-defend press freedom" with poster in the background reading (English) "Justice for Percy Lapid" 3. Close of poster reading (English) "Justice for Percy Lapid" 4. Mid of protesters holding placards reading (English) "Justice for Percy Lapid" and "Stop the killings!" 5. National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), Chairperson Jonathan De Santos, addressing the crowd 6. Close of the seal of the National Union of Journalist of the Philippines on a t-shirt 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jonathan De Santos, Chairperson NUJP: "Relations between media and the government were not that good under (Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo) Duterte and under a (President Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) administration we were hoping that it could be a fresh start. But this shows, rather this attack shows that the same conditions that existed under Duterte are still here. And this is a challenge for the new government to show that they do respect press freedom, that they understand the role of journalists and that they will protect us while we do our jobs." 8. Various of protesters lighting candles STORYLINE: Motorcycle-riding gunmen killed a longtime radio commentator in metropolitan Manila in the latest attack on a member of the media in the Philippines, considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. Police said Percival Mabasa, 63, was driving his vehicle Monday night when two men on a motorcycle approached and shot him twice in the head in suburban Las Pinas City. The attackers escaped and an investigation is underway to identify and locate them, police officials said. They also said investigators are trying to determine the motive for the attack. Mabasa, who used the broadcast name Percy Lapid, was critical of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw a deadly crackdown on illegal drugs, and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of a dictator who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising. "This attack shows that the same conditions that existed under Duterte are still here", Jonathan De Santos, the chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said. "This is a challenge for the new government to show that they do respect press freedom, that they understand the role of journalists and that they will protect us while we do our jobs", he added. Amnesty International said the attack "bears all the hallmarks of an extrajudicial execution and an attempt to silence voices critical of the government." The victim's family condemned the "brutal and brazen killing" and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice. Mabasa is the second journalist killed under Marcos Jr., who took office in June. Radio broadcaster Rey Blanco was stabbed to death during an altercation last month in central Negros Oriental province. The suspect immediately surrendered to police. Nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1986, when Marcos Sr. was overthrown, according to the journalists' union. The group led a protest Tuesday night and called on the government to do more to stop the killing of journalists. In 2009, members of a powerful political clan and their men killed 58 people, including 32 media workers, in an execution-style attack in southern Maguindanao province that horrified the world. Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
