Joselito Agustin

DZJC

June 16, 2010, in Baccara, Philippines

Two gunmen on motorcycles shot Agustin four times as he was returning from work near the northern town of Baccara late on the evening of June 15, according to local and international news reports. Agustin, who was driving, had a passenger, his nephew, who suffered a leg wound, according to the reports. The journalist was taken to a local hospital but died the next morning, the news reports said.

The 37-year-old radio broadcaster was known for on-air commentaries criticizing official corruption, according to news reports.

Nick Malasig, a DZJC colleague, said Agustin had received text message death threats in the weeks before his murder, according to The Associated Press and the local press freedom group Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. On May 7, Agustin's house was sprayed with gunfire by unidentified assailants, according to news reports. Nobody was injured in that attack, the reports said.

Agustin had also reported on local election irregularities, including the disqualification of candidates, according to the media center. Malasig said his colleague had suspected a local politician was behind the May assault on his house, the center told CPJ.

On June 21, police filed murder charges against Pacific Velasco, newly elected vice mayor of Baccara, aide Leonardo Banaag, and two other suspects, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. In his radio commentaries, Agustin had spoken out against Velasco, who had been convicted in a recent graft case, the Inquirer reported. Agustin's nephew identified Banaag as the gunman, the Inquirer reported. 

Medium: Radio

Job: Columnist / Commentator

Beats Covered: Corruption, Politics

Gender: Male

Local or Foreign: Local

Freelance: No

Type of Death: Murder

Suspected Source of Fire: Government Officials

Impunity: Yes

Taken Captive: No

Tortured: No

Threatened: Yes

Related Articles:

• Getting Away With Murder, June 1, 2011
• Another radio journalist killed in the Philippines, June 16, 2010