Pace, 51, an outspoken block-time commentator on Radyo Ukay DXDS, was shot in the head and chest by two motorcycle-riding assailants while traveling home from work on a busy street in Digos City on the island of Mindanao. He died shortly after arriving at a local hospital.
On July 20, Digos City police arrested Joy Anticamara in the murder. Police said Pace's 16-year-old neighbor witnessed the shooting from 15 to 30 feet away and identified Anticamara in a lineup. A Digos court convicted Anticamara on April 29, 2009, and sentenced him to 17 years in prison for the murder.
Pace was known for stinging radio commentaries that often targeted local politicians. News reports noted that he had been the target of a number of libel lawsuits filed by politicians, businesspeople, and others. Pace purchased airtime from DXDS under a practice known as block-timing, in which commentators solicit their own advertisers. Local press freedom group the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said it believes the killing was carried out in retribution for Pace's commentaries.
Pace had received several death threats before the shooting, and another radio journalist, Dondon Dinoy, was later threatened for reporting on the killing, according to CMFR.