Joey Llana, a Philippine radio presenter was shot dead on Friday by unidentified assailants in Barangay Peñafrancia, Daraga town.

Llana, 43, was on his way to Legazpi for his radio program ‘Metrobanat’ on 92.3 FM Home Radio Legazpi.

According to the police, he was shot 14 times with a .45-caliber gun and a 9mm pistol.

Superintendent Benito Dipad, Daraga chief of police, told local media that Llana had been receiving death threats since last year from unknown persons, but he did not take them seriously.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said in a statement: “If proven to be related to his work, his death would be the 12th media killing under President Rodrigo Duterte, the third in Bicol and the 185th since 1986.”

The first radio commentator gunned down in Albay in early 2000 was Jun Villanueva of radio station DZGB in early 2000, followed by Roel Enrinal of DWZR later that same year.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also condemned the attack. “The murder of Joey Llana earlier this morning in the Philippines underscores the dangerous working environment that the media in the Philippines faces every day,”

IFJ general secretary, Anthony Bellanger said in a statement. “The government of the Philippines must take immediate action to curb the culture of violence and impunity against the local media. The Philippines democracy is weakened every time a journalist is killed,” he added.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had deemed the Philippines as the deadliest country for journalists in Asia, with 4 Filipino journalists killed for their work in 2017. It ranked 133rd out of the 180 countries RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom index, falling six notches from 127th in 2017.

The Philippines was also included in the top 5 dangerous countries for journalists – together with Mexico, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.