Allan Dizon

New York, December 2, 2004—The body of a young reporter was found Saturday in a garbage bin on the outskirts of Tabuk in remote Kalinga Province, the latest slaying in one of the deadliest years on record for Filipino journalists. Police believe that Stephen Omaois, 24, was bludgeoned to death, according to international news reports.

Omaois, a writer for the community newspaper Guru Press, had been reporting on a public works project in the town of Pinukpok, according to the Philippine Inquirer, quoting Guru Press editor Estafania Kollin. The Inquirer reported that staff members at Guru Press had received threats related to the story, and that Omaois may have been targeted because he was “vulnerable.”

New York, November 29, 2004—Allan Dizon, a photographer for the English-language newspaper The Freeman and a correspondent for the local tabloid Banat, was shot and killed Saturday night in Cebu City. CPJ is seeking to determine whether the journalist's murder was related to his work.

Dizon, 31, was shot in the head and chest near a car wash in Cebu City in central Philippines, about 350 miles (565 kilometers) south of Manila, according to local news reports. The unidentified gunman fired at point-blank range, and shot again as Dizon tried to run away. The journalist died just before 8:30 p.m. at Cebu City Medical Center, according to news reports.