On December 19, an unidentified gunman shot and killed newspaper publisher Larry Que at his office in Catanduanes province’s town of Vivac, according to media reports. Que was shot soon after his newspaper published a column he wrote alleging official negligence over an illegal methamphetamine laboratory that police raided in the island province, news reports said. CPJ is investigating to determine if his murder was in direct retaliation for his work.
The Philippines ranked fourth on CPJ’s latest Impunity Index, a measure of countries worldwide where journalist are killed and the murderers go free.