04 April 2006
Orlando Tapios Mendoza
Shooting
Orlando Tapios Mendoza, a part-time newspaper editor and contributor to the local newspapers the Tarlac Profile and Tarlac Patrol, was shot several times by unidentified men while driving home from his farm in Tarlac, a city located 100 kilometres north of Manila on 4 April.
Shot several times by his assailants, the journalist sustained fatal wounds to his head and body. At the time of his murder, Mendoza also held a position in the local government that involved resolving land disputes. Prior to joining the journalism profession, Mendoza was responsible for implementing the government’s land reform programme.
According to reports, Mendoza had recently been sued for libel by a local faction of the Philippine Guardian Brotherhood, a non-official organization for members of the military. The libel case was dismissed by a local court in late March 2006. Some of the journalist’s recent reporting had also been highly critical of the group. Mendoza was also vice-president of the Camp Marabulos Press Club and director of the Tarlac chapter of the Central Luzon Media Association.
