57-year-old radio broadcaster, Juan “Johnny Walker” Jumalon, was brutally gunned down early morning last Nov. 5 at 5:35 a.m. during his Sunday livestream on 94.7 Gold Mega Calamba FM, a local Visayan-language station. The live stream has now since been deleted from Facebook.  

The incident occurred in his home in Misamis Occidental. Jumalon’s gold necklace was stolen by the assailant before fleeing on a motorcycle with a companion waiting outside, as per the statement of the police. Jumalon was rushed to Calamba District Hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival. The identities and motives of the perpetrators are still under investigation. Brig. Gen. Ricardo Layug, acting regional director of the Police Regional Office said, “A Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) will be created to spearhead and coordinate the investigative efforts to facilitate the speedy resolution of the case.” 

Meanwhile, Malacañang released a statement saying that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemns the killing of Broadcaster Juan Jumalon. "Ang ganitong walang kabihasnang pag-atake sa ating mamamahayag ay walang lugar sa isang demokratikong bansa (This kind of barbarian attack against our journalists has no place in a democratic country)," Marcos said.

The Philippines is still considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, being ranked eighth in the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 2023 Global Impunity Index for countries where the killings of journalists go unpunished. According to the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), Jumalon is the fourth journalist to be killed under the current administration of Marcos-Duterte and the 199th overall since 1896. 

This brutal killing has spurred the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), other media organizations, and progressive groups to condemn this heinous killing of the broadcaster as they called for an “end to impunity” in crimes against journalists which was just commemorated last Nov. 2, a few days after the killing of Jumalon. 

“Jumalon’s death must bind us together, once more, to call for an end to the impunity that hounded our profession for the longest time. Moreso, we must reaffirm the principles we bravely upheld: truth, courage, and unequivocal service to the masses,” CEGP said.