MANILA, July 2 (Reuters) - A Philippine policeman has been arrested for killing a radio commentator on a central island last month, officials said on Thursday. Darwin Quinoyog, posted at the Magsaysay police station on Mindoro island, was arrested last week, Arnel Dalumpines, head agent of the National Bureau of Investigation, told reporters. "We have a strong case against him after several witnesses, including the victim's wife, saw him shoot Crispin Perez dead in front of his house," Dalumpines said, adding the suspect faced life imprisonment if found guilty. Dalumpines said investigators were trying to establish the motive for the killing of Perez, who hosted a daily morning radio talk show at a government-owned network. At least six journalists, most of them radio commentators, have been killed in the Philippines since January this year, making the country one of the most dangerous places in the world for the working press. The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) said only five journalists were killed last year and 59 have been killed since 2001, when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was swept into power in an army-backed popular uprising. Investigative stories about drug trafficking, gambling, corruption and other illegal activities involving officials in the Philippines often puts reporters at risk. Corruption in the media, with underpaid journalists sometimes taking bribes to report stories, also places reporters in danger from disgruntled paymasters or their rivals. Under fire from local and international human rights groups for its failure to protect hundreds of journalists and left-wing activists killed over the past seven years, the government has vowed to track down killers of reporters but there have been few convictions. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alex Richardson)
Dismissed workers of Triumph International Philippines hold bras during a demonstration in front of the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) in Manila June 30, 2009. Triumph International last week announced ...
