Local tabloid reporter shots in Masbate

MASBATE: Gunmen on a motorcycle shot and wounded a newspaper reporter on Friday, days after another journalist was murdered, local police said.

Antonio Castillo, 45, a reporter on the local tabloid Bigwasan (punch), was wounded in the back and right thigh as he rode his motorcycle along a highway, said Police chief Senior Insp. Aurora Moran.

Despite his injuries Castillo was able to drive to a nearby village where he sought refuge with local residents, the policeman said.

The victim later said he knew the identities of his attackers, Moran said without elaborating, but it was not clear if the shooting was related to his job.

The attack comes after broadcast journalist Crispin Perez was shot and stabbed to death in Mindoro on Tuesday, according to local authorities it was a “politically motivated” attack.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists earlier this year said the Philippines were among several countries where media personnel are murdered with impunity.  –AFP