Manila (dpa) – A Philippine radio broadcaster and newspaper publisher was shot dead in the southern Philippines hours after receiving a threat while on air, police said Friday. It was the first attack of 2012 on a media worker in the Philippines, where violence against journalists is widespread. Christopher Guarin, 41, was driving home with his wife and 9-year-old daughter late Thursday when two gunmen opened fire at his car in General Santos City, 1,050 kilometers south of Manila. Guarin died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds, while his wife suffered minor injuries and their daughter was not injured, said police officer Gerald Jubelag. Investigators were looking into reports that Guarin, a radio broadcaster and publisher of a local community newspaper, received a threatening text message during his radio program just hours before the attack, Jubelag said. The Philippines has been tagged as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world by local and international press freedom groups. According to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, five journalists were killed last year. From 2001 to 2010, a total of 80 journalists were murdered, including 32 in the country's worst single political massacre in 2009. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/3DOqI Tags: Journalist, Killed, Philippines Section: East Asia, Media
