Chito Abuzo's bloodied body was found late Saturday inside the compound of DXGS radio station in southern General Santos City, where he hosted a nightly health program and wrote a newspaper column, police said. They said the killing may be linked to a personal grudge.
Abuzo's head was smashed with a heavy rock, said the city's police chief Marcelo Pintac.
Initial findings pointed to a personal feud, he said, adding that authorities were looking for the boyfriend of a female journalist as a suspect. He gave no other details.
The Philippines prides itself as having one of the freest media in Southeast Asia, but it is also one of the most dangerous places for journalists.
Seventy-five media workers have been killed since 2001, and only four cases have been successfully prosecuted, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
In the world's deadliest assault on journalists, at least 30 reporters and staff members were among 57 people massacred Nov. 30 in the southern Philippines. The journalists were covering the gubernatorial race ahead of national elections in May when their convoy was ambushed.
Muckraking commentators and journalists investigating corruption and reporting on local politics often earn the ire of political warlords, who wield influence in many parts of the country.
