Robredo warns of chilling effect on media after Albay broadcaster’s slay

LEGAZPI CITY — Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo has called for the swift resolution of the killing of broadcaster Adrian “Golden Boy” Loterte in Daraga, Albay, warning that failure to solve the case could have a chilling effect on media practitioners and discourage them from speaking out against wrongdoing.

Robredo said the killing was particularly alarming because a media safety seminar organized by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) had just concluded. She also noted that another media practitioner had previously been killed in Albay.

“If this is happening, it seems the message is, ‘Stop, stop calling out wrongdoing,’” Robredo told reporters in an interview.

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READ: Albay broadcaster dies in gun attack

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She said the consequences would extend beyond journalists to the public, which relies on the media for information and could also become reluctant to speak out for fear of being targeted.

“When journalists become afraid because their lives are in danger, it is ultimately the public that loses out. People become hesitant to speak up because they fear the same thing could happen to them. That is why, for me, the case must be resolved swiftly to prevent it from having a chilling effect on media practitioners,” she said.

Loterte, an anchor of RBN News Television, also known as Rabas Cun Rabas, was shot in Barangay San Roque, Daraga, on Monday, Oct. 12. He died hours later while receiving treatment at Daraga Doctors Hospital.

Police are investigating the killing but have yet to identify the suspects or establish the motive.

Brig. Gen. Randy Glenn Silvio, Bicol police regional director, said a special investigation task group had been formed to investigate the killing and bring those responsible to justice. He assured Loterte’s family that authorities would make every effort to solve the case. /das