Group denounces killing of Negros Occidental broadcaster

CAGAYAN DE ORO — The killing of a Negros Occidental-based broadcaster adds to the growing number of slain journalists and media workers.

On March 20, Julito Calo, a radio broadcaster at DNN News FM in Himamaylan City, was shot dead around 2 p.m. in front of his residence in La Castellana town in the same province. The unidentified killer was reportedly on board an SUV.

The Negros Island Region chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) denounced the killing as it reflects the dangerous environment for media practitioners.

“It is a blatant attack to silence voices that seek to inform, question, and hold power to account for their civic duties and responsibilities and uphold the public’s right to know,” the group said in a statement. 

Prior to Calo’s murder, NUJP’s safety office documented eight media workers killed under the Marcos Jr. administration although not all of them were work-related.

Read: Slain journalists under Marcos Jr.

Calo served as a blocktimer, hosting a weekend radio program Waswasanay sa Quinto Distrito, which just started on March 14, nearly a week before the killing. Marny Yude, station manager of DNN News FM, told reporters that the program was sponsored by the local government of Himamaylan City.

A blocktimer refers to a person or entity that leases airtime to broadcasting firms for their programs that are independent of the broadcast stations.

In their first episode, Calo, together with Yude who served as guest, discussed the oil price hike and necessary subsidies for drivers of public transportation. They also talked about the alleged colorum or undocumented public transport plying the city.

The Philippines, with three documented deaths, ranked fifth among countries in the world that have the most media killings in 2025 based on the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) data.

In 2024, the country also placed ninth in CPJ’s Global Impunity Index which lists the world’s top offenders in allowing murderers of journalists to go unpunished. The country has been on the list for 17 years. (DAA)

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