A local radio broadcaster in the southern Philippines was shot and killed on Monday, the country’s Presidential Task Force on Media Security confirmed, marking yet another deadly attack on journalists in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media workers.
Erwin Labitad Segovia, 63, a respected voice on Radio WOW FM and host of a programme that tackled social issues and local governance, was gunned down by an unidentified assailant shortly after leaving the station and heading home from his morning broadcast.
According to police reports, Segovia was tailed by two men on a motorcycle before being fatally shot. Authorities have launched an investigation and activated a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to pursue leads in the case.
Jose Torres Jr., executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, condemned the killing and vowed swift action. “The safety of journalists remains a priority for the government, and justice for victims of media-related violence continues to be a national concern,” he said in a statement.
Segovia’s murder is a grim reminder of the persistent risks journalists face across the Philippines, especially in remote and politically volatile provinces where threats and intimidation are common. Since the country’s return to democracy in 1986, over 200 journalists have been killed, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. The deadliest single incident occurred in 2009, when 32 media workers were murdered in a massacre in the southern region of Maguindanao.
The Philippines currently ranks ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2024 Global Impunity Index, which tracks countries where killings of journalists frequently go unpunished.
Segovia was known for his outspoken reporting on local governance and his willingness to address controversial issues, making him a prominent voice in his community—and, possibly, a target.
Melissa Enoch
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