APRIL 12, 2005
Posted: April 13, 2005
Alberto Martinez, Radyo Natin
ATTACKED, UNCONFIRMED
Police began searching for two suspects responsible for the attempted murder of radio broadcaster Alberto Martinez, who was shot in the back while on his way home on the southern island of Mindanao.
Police Inspector Alberto Jungaya told local reporters that unidentified gunmen shot Martinez on Sunday night in the town of Osais. Martinez, also a pastor with the Church of God World Mission, was rushed to the hospital and was in stable condition, according to international wire reports.
The Committee to Protect Journalists was investigating whether the shooting was related to Martinez’s daily radio show on the local community station Radyo Natin. Police said that Martinez had recently received death threats, and that the shooting could have occurred in retaliation for his anti-corruption themed broadcasts. Martinez, 46, was a “block-timer”; he leased a specific amount of airtime from the local radio station and is responsible for finding advertisers and sponsors. The practice of leasing airtime is controversial because it places economic burdens on broadcasters themselves, instead of on the station owners.