What Do You Think?

[reedetheaky]

copied from:
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4169965

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 6/23/2010

Police hunt two suspects in Philippine press murder

Police said Wednesday they are seeking two suspects over the murder of a journalist in the Philippines, the latest in a rash of press killings that has shocked the nation.

Nestor Dedolido may have been murdered after switching political allegiance shortly before the May 10 national elections, Senior Superintendent Ronald de la Rosa said.

Dedolido, 50, was gunned down on June 19 outside a bar he owned in the southern city of Digos.

Police said a person who they did not identify has come forward to identify two people as being behind the killing.

"He (the victim) was a political propagandist in the recent elections but he changed his loyalties... that is the most likely angle," de la Rosa said.

He gave no other details on the suspects or on Dedolido's political affiliations.

Two radio broadcasters known for criticising powerful figures were shot dead in separate incidents on June 14 and 15. Police have said that politicians are among the suspects in these two cases.

Politicians and other powerful government figures are often blamed for the killings of Filipino journalists.

Press groups say the high death rate is partly due to the many unlicensed firearms and a "culture of impunity" where powerful figures believe they are above the law.

The deadliest such incident took place in the southern island of Mindanao in November, when 57 people -- including 30 journalists -- were killed, allegedly by the private army of the ruling political clan.

Last year alone, 38 journalists were killed in the Philippines, according to media watchdog the International Press Institute (IPI).