Philippines radio commentator Datu Roy Quijada Gallego was killed on Sunday by unknown hit-men on a motorcycle as he drove on his motorcycle on the national highway in the Surigao del Sur province in Mindanao. Gallego was reportedly declared dead upon arrival at the Lianga District Hospital.

Police said that Gallego’s murder may be linked to his vocal opposition to mining practices in Mindanao, especially in the Caraga Region. He often criticized such practices during his radio commentary and public affairs programs on Butuan City’s AM radio station DXJM, and FM station DXSF in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “It is deeply worrying that despite official assertions of a willingness to tackle impunity, journalists are still being killed in the Philippines. The continued failure to bring the killers and masterminds to justice sends the message that it’s okay to shoot the messenger. As IPI pointed out to government officials during a recent press freedom mission to the Philippines, these killings have a dangerously detrimental effect on the flow of information in the public interest.”

Gallego reportedly belonged to the Manobo tribe, with the rank of “datu” (chief). He was also president of the Bayanihan Council of Datus in the Caraga Region, which opposed mining. The Bayanihan Council of Datus had filed complaints against several public officials who had granted mining permits in protected areas in the region. The Council said that mining activities violated indigenous people’s rights, according to news reports.

According to the IPI Death Watch, Gallego is the fourth journalist killed this year in the Philippines most likely in connection with his journalistic activity.