Mariano, a commentator for Radyo Natin-Aksyon Radyo, was fatally shot
by unidentified gunmen in Laoag City, the capital of Ilocos Norte
Province, according to news reports.
Mariano was riding his motorcycle home after completing a broadcast
at DZJC Radyo Natin-Aksyon Radyo when assailants shot him several
times in the back and head.
Local journalists believe that Mariano’s death was connected to his
hard-hitting commentaries. The veteran broadcaster’s final program
denounced illegal jueteng gambling operations in the city,
as well as financial irregularities in the local electric cooperative.
A senior police officer and
another suspect were charged with Mariano’s murder, but a court acquitted them
in 2010, saying the prosecution had failed to prove that the two were the same
men who had killed the journalist.