WHAT WENT BEFORE
At least 11 media men have been killed in work-related attacks from June 30, 2016, to June 30, 2018.
On May, 3, 2018, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility ( CMFR), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines ( NUJP), Philippine Press Institute and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism listed nine media men who had been slain under the Duterte administration as of May 1, 2018.
The list included Larry Que, Joaquin Briones, Christopher Lozada, Leo Diaz, Rudy Alicaway, Mario Cantaoi, Marlon Muyco, Apolinario Suan Jr. and Edmund Sestoso.
On May 12, 2018, a retired soldier and anchorman for DXCA radio in Pagadian City, Carlos Matas, was gunned down by unidentified assailants.
On June 7, 2018, Dennis Denora, publisher of a weekly newspaper in Davao del Norte province, Trends and Times, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Panabo City.
Reacting to criticisms that he seemed to justify the killings of some journalists, President Duterte in October 2016 issued his first administrative order, which created the Presidential Task Force on Media Security to investigate the killings of journalists and protect media workers.