14 October 2011
Journalist gunned down in Mindanao
Shooting
An outspoken radio commentator, vehemently opposed to mining, was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Surigao del Sur province in Mindanao, police reported on Sunday.
Police said Roy Quijada Gallego was riding a motorcycle on the national highway in the town of Lianga, Agusan del Sur, on Friday when two persons approached him on motorcycle and shot him. Gallego was reportedly the seventh Filipino journalist killed since President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino took charge on June 30, 2010. Police believe the suspects were trailing Gallego when they caught up and shot him at close range on the national highway.
Police said they are investigating the motive behind the murder but Gallego’s family suspect that his objections to mining in Mindanao, especially in the Caraga Region, were the principal cause. Gallego, police said, belongs to the Manobo tribe where he held the rank of “datu” (chief). Gallego’s wife said that he was serving as the president of the Bayanihan Council of Datus in the Caraga Region (Bacoda) which opposed mining.
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Source: Oman Tribune
