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Demonstrators hold placards at a rally calling for justice following the murder of a Philippine radio broadcaster, in Quezon City in suburban Manila on October 4, 2022. A Philippine radio broadcaster and government critic was shot dead near his home in suburban Manila, police said October 4, the latest in a long list of journalists killed in the country.
AFP / Jam Sta. Rosa
MANILA, Philippines — Three of the 128 journalists and media workers reportedly killed in 2025 were based in the Philippines, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
The victims — Juan “Johnny” Dayang, Erwin Labitad Segovia and Noel Bellen Samar — were all shot dead.
Dayang, who was 89 years old, was killed in his own home in Kalibo, Aklan on April 29, 2025. He was a veteran journalist and publisher of the Philippines Graphic Magazine and was also a columnist for Manila Bulletin’s Balita and Tempo.
Segovia was also a journalist based in the province. He was a 63-year-old radio broadcaster who hosted “Diritsahan” on Radio WOW FM, a program that focused on social issues, community concerns and local governance.
He was gunned down in broad daylight by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants in Surigao del Sur on July 21, 2025.
In Albay, 54-year-old local broadcaster Samar died on October 21, 2025 after sustaining gunshot wounds from a shooting attack the morning before. He was a radio reporter for Kadunong Internet TV and 92.3 DWIZ.
The Philippines is among the Asia-Pacific countries with the highest number of media killings, following four in India and tied with Pakistan. Bangladesh and Afghanistan each recorded two deaths, while Nepal had one, bringing the regional total to 15.
Journalists detained
The IFJ also found that the Asia-Pacific region continues to hold the largest number of journalists in prison for their work. China (including Hong Kong) had the highest number in 2025, with 143 detained media workers, followed by Myanmar with 49 and Vietnam with 37.
In the Philippines, one community broadcaster, Frenchie Mae Cumpio, has been detained in Tacloban City since 2020 on charges of illegal firearm possession and terrorism financing.
Press freedom advocates have considered the charges as bogus, alleging that a gun was planted to censor her reporting on the Duterte administration’s human rights abuses.
She was also “quietly charged” in August 2025 with double murder over the killing of two soldiers in 2019, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The latest development in her case came in November 2025, when the Court of Appeals struck down the half-a-million-peso civil forfeiture case filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council against Cumpio and human rights advocate Marielle Domequil due to insufficient proof of their lawful designation as terrorists.
3,173 deaths globally since 1990
The IFJ’s year-end report also shows that, for the third straight year, the Middle East and Arab World had the highest number of journalist killings, with 74 in 2025, most occurring in Palestine as reporters covered Israel’s continued bombings in Gaza.
After the Asia-Pacific, Africa had 18 killings, the Americas 11, and Europe 10.
“Since 1990 and the launch of its annual Killed List, the IFJ has recorded 3,173 deaths worldwide, an average of 91 deaths per year, and 876 in the last ten years,” the IFJ report read.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said these numbers don’t demonstrate a mere statistic but a global crisis, urging governments to act with urgency to protect media workers and uphold press freedom.
“These deaths are a brutal reminder that journalists are being targeted with impunity, simply for doing their job,” he said.
“The world can no longer wait: it is time for a United Nations convention that guarantees the safety and independence of journalists everywhere,” he added.
There were more media killings in 2025 than in 2024, which witnessed the deaths of 122 journalists and media workers.
