02 December 2008
Leo Mila
Shooting
A radio commentator was shot dead as he was leaving work, becoming the eighth journalist killed in the Philippines this year, police said Wednesday.
Leo Mila, 38, of Radio Natin in San Roque township in Northern Samar province, was heading to the gate of the station's compound on his motorcycle when shots rang out late Tuesday, police and colleagues said. Authorities found his bullet-riddled body sprawled in a grassy area near the toppled motorbike, said police investigator Amer Lagrimas. Police have no immediate suspects and no witnesses have come forward, he said.
Station manager Alice Cagro told The Associated Press that Mila recently discussed alleged anomalies involving money collected from students' parents in a local school.
Lagrimas said two teachers from the high school will be questioned. Cagro said Mila's early morning program was devoted to public service, mainly discussing citizen complaints sent by text message. He also wrote reports for various tabloids in his province and recently published a local magazine, An Peryodista. Cagro is survived by his wife, 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.
