Injured	Killed
0	1

Date: 24 January 2011
Source: http://www.cpj.org/killed/2011/gerardo-ortega.php

A gunman shot radio talk show host Ortega in the back of the head as the journalist was shopping in a Puerto Princesa City clothing store shortly after his morning broadcast, according to local and international news reports.

Police arrested a suspect near the scene with the help of witnesses, reports said. The suspect–named in local news reports as Marlon de Camata, but also known as Marvin Alcaraz–initially told police the killing was robbery-related. He later told police that that he and another man, Dennis Aranas, had a contract to kill Ortega for 150,000 pesos (US$3,370).

Police said they traced the murder weapon to a man named Romeo Seratubias, a former employee of a provincial governor whom Ortega had accused of corruption, according to local news reports. Seratubias denied involvement in the shooting and said he had sold the gun, the reports say.

On January 26, Puerto Princesa City police filed charges against de Camata, Aranas, and Seratubias, along with two others accused of helping to prepare for the attack, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Ortega, 47, had received recent death threats from an unknown source, according to The Associated Press. The journalist had criticized local officials accused of corruption and had opposed provincial mining projects, news reports said. Superintendent Roland Amurao told Agence France-Presse that investigators suspected Ortega’s anti-mining broadcasts were a motive. “Ortega’s hard-hitting commentaries were targeted against mining companies he had accused of destroying Palawan’s environment.”