Unidentified gunmen on two motorcycles shot Dignos, 49, in
the head and chest while he was traveling on a national highway in Valencia
City, police told local
journalists.
Dignos hosted a weekday show called
“Bombardier” on DXGT radio, in which he often criticized local
officials, according to news reports. According to colleagues, over the past
few years Dignos became well known for his highly critical on-air commentaries about
local officials whom he deemed corrupt, reports
said.
In the days following Dignos’ murder, local police said they
were investigating the motive, and did not rule out that Dignos may have been
targeted for his political commentary, reports said. They said the gunmen could
have been hired to kill Dignos, reports said. A special task force was created
to speed up the investigation, police said.
Joseph Deveza, the Mindanao safety coordinator of the
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, told media that the death
appeared to be work-related as there were no known enemies in Dignos’ personal
life, only those who objected to his program. The National Union of Journalists
of the Philippines said that Dignos had received death threats in the past in
connection with his work. The union
also said that Dignos had at times used recorded commentary to replace
his live broadcasts so that potential assailants would not know his
whereabouts. In June, a grenade exploded near the station while one of Dignos’
recorded commentaries was on air, according to local
media reports.