freelance
October 14, 2011, in Lianga, Philippines

Gallego, a radio commentator and tribal activist, was gunned down in southern Surigao del Sur province just days before he was scheduled to launch a new radio program. Provincial police said they had reached no conclusions on the motive and had not identified any suspects, local news reports said.

Gallego was on his motorcycle when he was shot several times by assailants on motorcycles in Lianga town, according to local news reports and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. The reports said Gallego was due to start a new block-time program on 92.7 Smile FM San Francisco. In 2010, he had hosted a similar program on DXSF San Francisco Radio.

Block-timing is a common practice in the Philippines in which broadcasters lease airtime from a radio station and typically solicit their own advertising. A number of block-time commentators have been killed in the Philippines, according to CPJ research. Gallego, a tribal leader of the Manobo tribe, was a critic of local mining practices and was politically active in the region.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.

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