Media groups urge thorough probe on 8th journo killed under Marcos Jr admin

NAGA CITY – Media groups urged authorities to carry out a full and thorough investigation into the murder of broadcaster Noel Samar.  

Samar sustained four gunshot wounds while on his motorcycle along Maharlika Highway in Guinobatan, Albay on October 20 and was pronounced dead the next day, October 21, at Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center (BRHMC) in Daraga. 

PNP Guinobatan in Albay is looking into the possibility that the victim was followed and shot several times when the opportunity came. According to a local media report, the motive may be related to the victim’s media work, politics, and illegal gambling.

Read: Broadcaster dies in hospital after shooting incident

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed that journalists can sometimes be caught in the middle of places where corruption and political rivalries exist.

“Unfortunately, journalists do not only face the difficulties of delivering good journalism but also need to navigate the political culture and corruptive practices in their areas,” NUJP said.

While the motive remains unclear and the investigation is still ongoing, NUJP hopes that the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) will focus on their investigation until justice is served to the victim.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a thorough investigation and swiftly identify both the perpetrators and any possible masterminds behind Samar’s murder.

“The brutal murder of Filipino radio journalist Noel Bellen Samar must not go unpunished,” said RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director Cédric Alviani. “Given the persistent violence targeting journalists in the Philippines, it is vital that investigators fully consider his professional activities as a potential motive for the attack.”

“No journalist should face death by simply performing their duty in reporting the truth. The threats and other forms of attacks will not persist if the Marcos Jr. administration is serious about ending impunity,” NUJP said.

“Authorities must leave no stone unturned in identifying, capturing, and prosecuting the perpetrators behind the shooting of journalist Noel Bellen Samar,” said Shawn Crispin, Committee to Protect Journalists’s senior Southeast Asia representative.

Human rights advocate and former political prisoner Leila de Lima, meanwhile, said that Samar’s killing must not become just another statistic in the long list of slain journalists and unresolved cases involving media practitioners.

“We call on the administration of Marcos Jr.: Express it not only in words, but in actions, the condemnation of this heinous crime—the killing of media personnel which is also the killing of the free press. The government cannot remain soft and complacent in the face of this continued culture of violence and impunity,” de Lima said. 

Impunity

Samar’s killing reflects the reality of continued media impunity in the country, according to NUJP.

“It is clear that there are those who are not afraid to kill and will kill in this country. Violence and harassment of journalists is still rampant. Irresponsibility still persists,” said de Lima.

Samar is the eighth killed journalist in the country since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022. Among the eight media killings, two have been confirmed as work-related, while six others, including Samar’s, remain under investigation.

Since the so-called restoration of democratic institutions in 1986, at least 147 journalists have been killed in the Philippines, and one journalist, Frenchie Mae Cumpio, remains in detention according to RSF.

In the RSF’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index, the Philippines ranked 116th out of 180 countries, describing it as among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.

Another chilling effect

NUJP expressed disturbance on the latest media killing since it considers another chilling effect on media practitioners, campus journalists, and communication students.

Samar’s killing is not merely another crime but a direct assault on press freedom according to the unified statement of Bicol Organization of Neo – Journalists (BONJour) and youth organizations of Bicol University – College of Arts and Letters (BUCAL).

“It sends a chilling message that those who seek to intimidate and brutally muzzle critical voices of free speech can always get away without consequences,” BONJour’s unified statement stated.

“If journalists continue to be silenced and killed, it is clear that the very future of free journalism is at risk, along with young people who want to walk this field and those who continue to stand for justice and accountability,” said College Editors Guild of the Philippines – Bicol.

The CEGP – Bicol is in solidarity with the 21 campus publications in the Bicol region taking a firm stand against the recent attack in Albay province.

With the recent attack that led to the death of Samar, NUJP also reminded everyone to observe safety protocols outside the newsroom. “Let’s strengthen the safety, collective care, and protection of fellow journalists,” the group said. 
“Press freedom as a basic tenet of democracy must include the safety of radio broadcasters and other journalists,” said Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza, D.D., Bishop of San Carlos and the Convenor of the Pilgrims for Peace. (RTS, RVO)

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