A radio host was fatally shot live on air in the Philippines in a 'brazen killing'

• Juan Jumalon, a radio host in the Philippines, was shot live on air on November 5.
• The country's National Union of Journalists said he's the 199th journalist to be killed since 1986.

A radio host in the Philippines was fatally shot in his studio while live on air on the morning of November 5.

Juan Jumalon, known as DJ Johnny Walker, was broadcasting on the radio station 94.7 Calamba Gold FM at 5:30 a.m. local time when the suspect asked to enter the DJ's radio booth to say "something important on air," the BBC reported, citing local media reports.

The suspect reportedly then shot him twice.

Jumalon's wife took him straight to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival, per the report.

The country's National Union of Journalists posted a statement on social media after news broke, saying they condemned the "brazen killing'" of Jumalon.

"The attack is even more condemnable since it happened at Jumalon's own home, which also served as the radio station," the statement read.

It also noted that Jumalon's death makes him the 199th journalist to be killed in the Philippines since 1986, "and the fourth under the present administration."

"The killing also comes in the same week as the International Day to End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists," it adds.

The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also condemned the murder in a post on X, writing that he had instructed police to conduct "a thorough investigation to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice."

"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 added.

The Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) Global Impunity Index 2022 listed the Philippines as the seventh most dangerous country in the world for journalists. It says that there are 14 unsolved murders of journalists in the country.

Hostility to the press has persisted since former President Rodrigo Duterte's rule, which was marked by "intimidation and harassment of the press," per the CPJ.

Former President Duterte clashed with the media many times, France24 reported, while 19 journalists were killed and at least 171 were threatened or attacked under his administration, The Guardian reported.

In July, the National Union of Journalists condemned the treatment journalists in the Philippines faced, citing "hostile environments, restrictions on reporting and false labelling by authorities as terrorist organisations."