Broadcaster shot dead in Zamboanga City
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday condemned the killing of a broadcast journalist in Zamboanga City and called for a thorough investigation and swift resolution of the case. In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) blasted Tuesday's "barbaric attack" on Ma. Vilma Rodriguez, a broadcaster of EMedia Productions Network Inc. and a barangay official. Rodriguez, 56, was shot three times by a lone gunman near her house in front of her family members at 8:45 p.m. on Comet Street, Barangay Tumaga. She was taken to the Zamboanga City Medical Center, where she was declared dead on arrival. "These kinds of vile and atrocious acts have no place in our nation, which values freedom, democracy, and the rule of law above all," the PCO said. "We call upon the authorities to conduct a swift and impartial probe into this atrocious incident. No stone should be left unturned in the pursuit of those culpable," it added. Police in Zamboanga City said a suspect, whose identity has been withheld, was arrested and detained. "At 1:15 a.m. [Wednesday], we arrested the suspect related to the shooting of Ms. Rodriguez," said Col. Kimberly Molitas, city police director. Investigators said Rodriguez was sitting inside a store together with her mother, sister and nephew when the suspect barged in and repeatedly shot the victim. "The investigation disclosed that the circumstances leading to this incident are not related to the victim's work as a member of the media," Molitas said without revealing the motive for the killing. The Zamboanga chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killing, noting that she was the second female journalist murdered in the city after Gloria Martin in 1992. "We are urging the Zamboanga City Police Office to probe deeper into this, unmask the killers and their masterminds, and put them behind bars. We don't need a tale of another unsolved case that ended up as archives or statistics," the NUJP-Zamboanga City said in a statement. E-Media radio announcer Rey Bayoging announced her passing on air on Wednesday. She was last on air on Tuesday, hours before her murder. "She was a good community leader and the barangay secretary in Tumaga. So, we gave her a radio program on barangay affairs since she knows the issues in the barangay, and her program is not a hard-hitting one," Bayoging said. Rodriguez, a mother of four, is the sixth journalist killed since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022. Some 200 have been killed since democracy was restored in 1986, data from the NUJP showed, making the Philippines one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday condemned the killing of a broadcast journalist in Zamboanga City and called for a thorough investigation and swift resolution of the case.
In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) blasted Tuesday's "barbaric attack" on Ma. Vilma Rodriguez, a broadcaster of EMedia Productions Network Inc. and a barangay official.
Rodriguez, 56, was shot three times by a lone gunman near her house in front of her family members at 8:45 p.m. on Comet Street, Barangay Tumaga. She was taken to the Zamboanga City Medical Center, where she was declared dead on arrival.
"These kinds of vile and atrocious acts have no place in our nation, which values freedom, democracy, and the rule of law above all," the PCO said.
"We call upon the authorities to conduct a swift and impartial probe into this atrocious incident. No stone should be left unturned in the pursuit of those culpable," it added.
Police in Zamboanga City said a suspect, whose identity has been withheld, was arrested and detained.
"At 1:15 a.m. [Wednesday], we arrested the suspect related to the shooting of Ms. Rodriguez," said Col. Kimberly Molitas, city police director.
Investigators said Rodriguez was sitting inside a store together with her mother, sister and nephew when the suspect barged in and repeatedly shot the victim.
"The investigation disclosed that the circumstances leading to this incident are not related to the victim's work as a member of the media," Molitas said without revealing the motive for the killing.
The Zamboanga chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killing, noting that she was the second female journalist murdered in the city after Gloria Martin in 1992.
"We are urging the Zamboanga City Police Office to probe deeper into this, unmask the killers and their masterminds, and put them behind bars. We don't need a tale of another unsolved case that ended up as archives or statistics," the NUJP-Zamboanga City said in a statement.
E-Media radio announcer Rey Bayoging announced her passing on air on Wednesday. She was last on air on Tuesday, hours before her murder.
"She was a good community leader and the barangay secretary in Tumaga. So, we gave her a radio program on barangay affairs since she knows the issues in the barangay, and her program is not a hard-hitting one," Bayoging said.
Rodriguez, a mother of four, is the sixth journalist killed since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022. Some 200 have been killed since democracy was restored in 1986, data from the NUJP showed, making the Philippines one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
