Journalist Percival Mabasa shot dead during an ambush

The radio host had been a prominent critic of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines

Kilusang Mayo Uno, together with journalists and rights defenders, held an indignation rally at the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City to denounce the brazen killing of veteran journalist Percival Mabasa, popularly known as Percy Lapid.: Twitter/ @abarcacharie

Reuters   |   TT  |  Manila   |  05.10.22: A news radio host who had been a prominent critic of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines was fatally shot in his car during an ambush near his home, the authorities said on Tuesday.

The journalist, Percival Mabasa, was killed on Monday night outside the capital, Manila, by two men on motorcycles who later escaped, said Brigadier General Roderick Augustus Alba, a spokesman for Philippine National Police. The shooting occurred in the suburb of Las Pinas, outside the gated community where Mabasa lived.

A manhunt was underway on Tuesday as the authorities investigated the killing, Alba said. 

Mabasa was the second journalist to be killed in the country since President Marcos, the son of the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, took office in late June after a polarising election, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

Last month, the radio broadcaster Renato “Rey” Blanco was stabbed to death in central Philippines, hundreds of miles south of the capital. A suspect in that case later surrendered to the police, but no charges have been filed.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened journalists who documented his violent anti-drug campaign with physical violence.

At least 23 journalists were killed during his six-year presidency.

Mabasa, known as Percy Lapid to his followers, had accused top Philippine officials of corruption in the hard-hitting radio programme that he hosted for years in Manila.

Among his targets were Duterte’s anti-drug campaign and perceived attempts by supporters of the Marcos family to distort history by portraying the elder Marcos, who died in 1989, as a victim of his political enemies. 

In recent weeks, Mabasa had criticised the current Marcos government for what he said was corruption involving anomalies in sugar imports through a state agency.

The President’s executive secretary, Vic Rodriguez, resigned last month after the backlash generated by Mabasa’s reporting.