Philippines radio presenter, 57, is shot dead during Facebook livestream in brazen home studio attack by gunman pretending to be a listener

A radio presenter in the Philippines has been shot dead after a gunman brazenly entered the home studio pretending to be a listener, attacking the 57-year-old as the programme was being livestreamed on Facebook. 

News broadcaster Juan Jumalon was shot twice during a morning broadcast in Calamba town in Misamis Occidental province, police said.

Shocking video footage of the attack showed the journalist look up at something away from the camera, before the shots ring out, causing him to slump back in his chair as the music plays on. He was pronounced dead on the way to a hospital.

The attacker, whose identity was concealed, is then seen snatching his victim’s gold necklace before fleeing on a motorbike with a companion who had been waiting outside Mr Jumalon’s home. 

An investigation is now underway to identify the gunman and establish the nature of the attack. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr strongly condemned the shooting and said he has ordered the national police to track down, arrest and prosecute the killers.

News broadcaster Juan Jumalon was shot twice during a morning broadcast in Calamba town in Misamis Occidental province, police said

Shocking footage shows the presenter (shown in his livestream moments before being shot) being shot at twice before slumping in his chair 

‘Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated in our democracy and those who threaten the freedom of the press will face the full consequences of their actions,’ he said in a statement. 

For decades the Philippines has been regarded as one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world. 

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a press freedom watchdog, said Mr Jumalon was the 199th journalist to be killed in the country since 1986 – the year when democracy returned to the country.

It followed a ‘People Power’ uprising which toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the father of the current president, and forced him and his family into US exile.

‘The attack is even more condemnable since it happened at Jumalon’s own home, which also served as the radio station,’ the watchdog said.

The attacker was not seen on the Facebook livestream but police said they are checking if security cameras installed in the house and at neighbours’ homes recorded anything.

In 2009, members of a powerful political clan and their associates gunned down 58 people, including 32 media workers, in a execution-style attack in southern Maguindanao province. It was the deadliest single attack on journalists in recent history.

While the mass killing was later linked to a violent electoral rivalry common in many rural areas, it also showcased the threats faced by journalists in the Philippines.

A surfeit of unlicensed guns and private armies controlled by powerful clans and weak law enforcement in rural regions are among the security concerns journalists face in the poverty-stricken Southeast Asian country.

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