MisOc TV journalist survives slay attempt

AN unidentified assailant lobbed a grenade at the house of a local TV journalist in Jimenez town, Misamis Occidental Sunday night, injuring one person.

Local newsman Daniel Pilar was feeding his chickens at the back of his house when the blast tore through his house on Barangay Tabo-o at around 7 p.m., December 20.

Pilar's father-in-law was injured in the blast and was immediately hospitalized. The blast also blew out the windows of the Pilar family's house.

Neptali Batolenio, chapter vice - president of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said the attack seems to be related to Pilar's work as a TV journalist. Pilar hosts the news and public service program "Analysis" at a local cable TV station.

"After talking to Danny, I believe this attack is politically motivated. I think this is the first time this has happened in our town. He did not receive a death threat before the attack. He was doing research on a politician and that person may have been tipped off about Danny's inquiries," Batolenio told ABS-CBN.

The NUJP official condemned the attack, saying that the Pilar family is now in hiding after the incident.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists earlier identified the Philippines as the deadliest nation in the world for journalists after registering 34 media deaths for this year alone. At least 31 Philippine journalists were killed in the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, which is the worst election-related killing in the country's history.

"The killings in the Philippines are a shocking but not entirely surprising product of a long-term reality: The government has allowed unpunished violence against journalists, most of it politically motivated, to become part of the culture," CPJ Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz said in a statement. (With a report from Ronnie Enderes, ABS-CBN News )