ISLAMABAD: Monitoring Desk – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Philippine authorities to promptly investigate the murder of radio anchor Erwin “Boy Pana” Segovia, who was gunned down in Bislig city on 21 July, and to implement strong measures to combat the ongoing impunity surrounding crimes against journalists.
On Monday 21 July, radio journalist Erwin “Boy Pana” Segovia — a Radio WOW FM anchor and station manager at Radyo Gugma — was shot in the head by unidentified assailants while riding his motorcycle in Bislig city, in the province of Surigao del Sur on the eastern coast of Mindanao island. Police are conducting an active “hot pursuit operation” to apprehend the suspects.
Segovia was a journalist well-known for his hard-hitting commentary on politics and social issues during his on-air program Diritsahan! of Radio WOW FM. While the motive behind the killing has not been confirmed, Segovia had just finished hosting his show and was on his way home when he was followed by two individuals on motorcycles who shot him.
“The brutal murder of Filipino radio journalist Erwin Segovia must not go unpunished. We urge the Philippine Department of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation so that the perpetrators and instigators of this horrific crime are brought to justice. We also call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take the strongest measures to definitively end the culture of violence against journalists in his country, and to the sense of impunity that only encourages criminals to target the press”
Cédric Alviani
RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director
Erwin “Boy Pana” Segovia is the fifth radio journalist killed in the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022, while two cases were confirmed as journalism-related, three others are still under investigation.
As the population is dispersed across thousands of islands, radio plays a fundamental role in circulating news and information, and radio journalists often pay with their lives for being more outspoken and incisive. In October 2022, radio journalist Percival Mabasa, better known by his pseudonym Percy Lapid, was shot near his home in the suburbs of Manila. To date, the perpetrators of this crime have not been brought to justice.
With 147 journalists murdered since the restoration of democracy in 1986, and one journalist, Frenchie Mae Cumpio, currently detained, the Philippines remains one of the deadliest and most dangerous countries for the press. In 2025, the archipelago ranked 116th out of 180 in the RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.
