Olea, a radio commentator, was shot twice in the back
while riding his motorcycle to work, according to news reports that quoted
police sources.
Senior Police Superintendent Victor Deona told Agence
France-Presse that the killing appeared to be work-related. Olea’s wife,
Raquel, said he had received recent death threats, AFP reported. She later told
the Philippine Daily Inquirer that she had asked her husband to back
away from the harsh commentaries featured on his daily show. “But he told me
that if he stopped doing exposés, nobody else will do the job,” she told the Inquirer.
Colleagues and supporters of Olea and Miguel Belen, a DWEB-FM
broadcaster killed in July 2010, said the men had angered a political clan
during the May 2010 local elections, the Philippine media reported. But Iriga
City Mayor Madelaine Alfelor Gazmen warned reporters covering the killing not
to rush to judgment about the motive or perpetrators. Although Olea had harshly
criticized her administration, Gazmen condemned the shooting.
At Olea’s burial, Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund
Villafuerte announced a 500,000 pesos (US$11,500) reward for anyone supplying
information leading to the arrest of Olea’s killers. Olea is survived by his
wife and two children.