Filipino journo shot

2005-01-31 13:54

Davao, Philippines - The publisher of a weekly newspaper was in serious condition after being shot four times in the chest in the latest attack on journalists in the Philippines, officials said on Monday.

Maximo Quindao, 46, editor and publisher of the Mindanao Trucknews weekly in the southern city of Tagum, was shot by two men on a motorcycle just outside his office on Saturday, police said.

Quindao's wife Teresita said the attack may have been politically motivated as her husband had often criticised many politicians in the southern province of Davao del Norte.

Police in Tagum, near the southern city of Davao, are still searching for the gunmen and have not given any motive for the murder attempt.

A fact-finding mission from the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) blamed a widespread culture of violence, which is tolerated and condoned by Philippine government officials, for the deaths of 13 journalists last year.

The IFJ has denounced the spate of attacks on journalists, saying that 55 had been killed in the Philippines since democracy was restored in 1986 and not a single person convicted.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye disputed the IFJ's findings, saying "we don't condone a culture of violence especially as this applies to journalists."

He said police had filed charges against suspects in many of the murder cases although these cases often got delayed in the courts.

Bunye also called for closer cooperation between media organizations and a special police task force created to crack down on attacks on the press.

- AFP