ZAMBOANGA CITY, 29 November 2004 — An unidentified gunman shot dead a photojournalist in the central Philippine island of Cebu, bringing the number of media people killed this year to 11, the National Union of Journalist in the Philippines (NUJP) said yesterday.
In a press statement, the NUJP said Allan Dizon of the newspaper Freeman was outside a SM City shopping mall in Cebu City when the gunman struck.
Other reports said Dizon was shot three times at close range and that the assailant managed to escape. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The NUJP says he was the 12th Filipino journalist murdered this year, although the last count by other media groups was 11.
The last casualty before Dizon was broadcaster in the central province of Aklan.Herson Hinolan, who has the reputation of a hardhitting commentator for the popular Bombo radio network in Aklan, was gunned down on Nov. 13. He died two days later.
On Nov. 11, Gene Boyd Lumawag, a photo editor for the independent Philippine news agency MindaNews, who was gunned down in the southern island of Jolo.
Lumawag was in Jolo with MindaNews editor Carolyn Arguillas to do an anti-corruption story when he met his death.
An international group of journalists has warned that the Philippines, with more than 60 media persons killed in the past two decades, has become a dangerous place for journalists.
