A reporter for an online news service was shot dead in his home, becoming the latest in a long line of journalists slain in the country.
Orlando Dinoy, a reporter for Newsline Philippines and anchor for Energy FM, was shot six times by a gunman who barged into his apartment in Bansalan town, in Davao del Sur, local police chief Major Peter Glenn Ipong said.
Dinoy died immediately.
Officers were still investigating possible motives, he said.
"One of the angles we are looking at is his work as a media man… but no one can give us a concrete lead so far," Ipong said.
Dinoy was the 21st journalist killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took power in 2016, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said.
National police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar ordered a thorough investigation into the case and vowed to protect the media from attacks.
In a report this month, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists listed the Philippines at seventh place in its Global Impunity Index, with 13 murders of journalists still unsolved.
The nation has been a mainstay in the annual index since it started in 2008.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he would direct the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to lead and coordinate an investigation of Dinoy’s killing.
Police reports showed that Dinoy was killed by an unidentified gunman inside his rented apartment at past 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30.
Guevarra said the National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police are among the member agencies represented in the PTFoMS.
He urged journalists who feel they are in danger to contact the task force.
“We are calling on all journalists and media persons who feel that their personal security is at risk to immediately inform the PTFoMS, through its Executive Director Joel Egco, so that the task force may take all the necessary protective or preemptive measures,” he said.
On Friday, Guevarra said every violent attack against a Filipino journalist is investigated immediately by law enforcement agencies.
“The Presidential Task Force on Media Security created under AO (Administrative Order) No.1 has been doing its job diligently and has helped in the prosecution of many cases of media violence,” Guevarra said.
In response to the Philippines’ high ranking in the Global Impunity Index, Guevarra said Filipino journalists “are in the better position to say whether their lives are in mortal danger as they go about practicing their profession.”
He also said the prosecution of Filipino journalists for libel should not be considered as government attacks against the media.
Egco said in a statement that the “government condemns in the strongest terms this heinous crime against a respected member of the media and has instructed the local Philippine National Police (PNP) in Bansalan to immediately conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the incident.”
“Even if the motive seems to be a personal matter, the Task Force will see to it that justice will be served to those responsible for Dinoy’s death”, Egco added.
In a statement, Eleazar said, “We will look into all the possible angles on this case, and we are also asking the help of our kababayan to provide us with any information that could lead to the resolution of this case.”
Eleazar also offered his condolences to the family of Dinoy, adding that the regional office assigned to Davao del Sur will ensure justice for the victim.
Eleazar said they are coordinating with the PTFoMS to ensure that they will probe all cases of harassment against the members of the press.
"We will not accept this type of attack against media freedom,” Eleazar said in Filipino, adding that the Constitution requires that press freedom be protected. With AFP