Journalist shot dead in Philippines

A radio broadcaster was shot dead in the Philippines on Thursday, police said, the seventh journalist to be murdered this year in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for reporters. A gunman riding a motorcycle killed Julius Cauzo, 51, in the northern city of Cabanatuan, where he worked as a talk show host as well as a reporter for the privately run DWJJ radio station, police said. Local police officer Fernando Cacayorin said that, while the motive was not yet known, Cauzo was outspoken on sensitive issues in local politics and criticized various politicians on his radio show. Cauzo had also criticized corruption in the area, although it was unclear immediately as to why he was murdered, said Nestor Burgos, chairman of the media watchdog National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. Media organizations and rights groups say the Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. They say this is part of a “culture of impunity” that infects all of society, where powerful figures believe they can kill or intimidate their critics without being punished. Cauzo became the 154th journalist to be killed in the Philippines since 1986, when a revolution ended the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ rule and introduced a chaotic, corrupt democracy, according to the journalist’s union. Six of those killings, aside from Cauzo’s, occurred this year, according to the union. It said four were murdered because of their work, while the motives for two others remained unknown. None of this year’s cases have been solved.