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JOURNALIST MURDERED. Radio announcer Rex Cornelio is assassinated in the city of Dumaguete. Photo from Cornelio’s Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A 48-year-old radio reporter was shot dead in the city of Dumaguete on Tuesday, May 5.
According to a report by the Dumaguete City Police Department, Rex Cornelio Pepino or “Rex Cornelio” on Energy 93.7 FM, was shot before 9 pm in Villa Amada, North Road, in Barangay Daro, Dumaguete City.
He was on board his motorcycle with his wife when he was shot by unidentified suspects who were also riding on another motorcycle.
He was rushed to the Silliman University Medical Center and the attending physicians declared him dead on arrival.
Police are still investigating the motive for the murder.
Cornelio, whose murder occurs just two days after World Press Freedom Day, is the third radio journalist killed in the city of Dumaguete since 2018.
Another radio announcer, Dindo Generoso, was shot dead, also by tandem gunmen, in November 2019. Edmund Sestoso, meanwhile, was shot dead in April 2018.
Three suspects have been charged with the murder of Generoso, while the murder of Sestoso remains unsolved.
According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Cornelio’s murder marks the 16th journalist murder since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, and 188 since 1986.
According to a report on Inquirer.net, Cornelio was sued by Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo for defamation, but was acquitted in 2017.
The murder also comes just 5 days after a coronavirus lockup in Negros Oriental was downgraded to a general community quarantine. Since January, the province has reported only 4 confirmed cases of coronavirus. – Rappler.com
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