MANILA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead a local radio broadcaster on Friday in Albay province of the Philippines.
Local Police said Joey Llana, a broadcaster of the local radio DWZR, was gunned down around 4:45 a.m. local time inside his car as he was leaving his house in Daraga town, south of Manila, to host his program.
The unidentified gunmen shot Llana at close range several times with a pistol, the police said.
The victim has been receiving death threats since last year, according to a National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) statement.
Police said they are looking into the motive of the killing.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque and lawmakers condemned Llana's killing after the tragedy.
"We strongly condemn the killing of radio reporter Joey Llana in Daraga, Albay, as yet another infringement on the rights to life and a free press," Roque said in a statement.
Philippine Senator Sonny Angara urged the authorities to conduct an immediate investigation on the killing of the broadcaster.
"This violence against a practicing journalist deserves no less than condemnation, as it has no place in a civilized society like ours," Angara said in a statement, adding "we cannot allow fear and impunity to reign in a democratic society."
The NUJP said Llana is the third radio broadcaster killed in Albay province. In 2000, the NUJP in Albay said two radio commentators were also killed in the province.
