Philippines: Female radio anchor killed in Mindanao shooting

Female radio anchor Maria Vilma Rodriguez was killed after unknown assailants shot her at a store near her home in Zamboanga City on the southern island of Mindanao on October 22. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), in strongly condemning the killing and urging police to ensure that a thorough and transparent investigation is conducted.

Radio anchor and local community leader Maria Vilma Rodriguez was fatally shot three times in Zamboanga City on the southern island of Mindanao on October 22. Credit: Facebook

On October 22, eMedia Production Network radio anchor and local community leader Maria Vilma Rodriguez was shot three times in the abdomen by unidentified assailants on motorcycles outside a store near her home in Zamboanga City. Despite her injuries, Rodriguez managed to walk home and informed her daughter of her injuries before being transferred to Zamboanga City Medical Centre, where she was declared dead by attending physicians at approximately 9:37 p.m.

Police arrested a suspect on October 23, though Zamboanga City police official Kimberly Molitas has declined to disclose the individual's identity to the media. Some news reports have pointed to a family dispute as a potential motive for the killing. Investigators have also recovered a spent cartridge case from the crime scene, believed to be from a .38 calibre firearm.

The Office of the President of the Philippines issued a statement condemning the attack and calling 'upon the authorities to conduct a swift and impartial probe' into the accident.

Rodriguez is the fifth journalist to be killed in the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022,. In September 2022, radio reporter Rey Blanco was fatally stabbed on Negros Island, followed by the shooting of broadcaster Percy 'Lapid' Mabasa in October by assailants in Manila. In May 2023, broadcaster Crecenciano Bunduquin was killed in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. Then, in November 2023, radioman Juan Jumalon was shot during a live broadcast by a lone gunman who pretended to be a listener at his home-based radio station in Misamis Occidental.

NUJP Zamboanga City said: "We condemn this atrocious attack against a journalist and a woman at that. 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."

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said:"The IFJ strongly condemns the killing of journalist Maria Vilma Rodriguez. The Marcos Jr. Government must do more to ensure the safety of Filipino journalists and media workers. The Federation urges Philippine authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into her murder, determine the motive behind the attack, and hold those responsible to account."