Broadcaster in Philippines Gunned Down on the Air

Gunmen burst into a radio station during a live broadcast today and fatally wounded the commentator in a barrage of bullets. Stunned listeners heard the gunshots and the victim’s groans.

Charlie Aberilla of DXWG-AM was rushed to a hospital with bullet wounds in the head, chest, buttocks and legs shortly after the 5:45 a.m. attack in the city of Iligan, 500 miles south of Manila.

The 64-year-old commentator died two hours later, station engineer Leonardo Orevillo said.

Aberilla was delivering an on-the-air commentary when three gunmen walked in “pretending to hand in a public service announcement” and then opened fire, Orevillo said.

“Most of the people listening to his program heard the shots on the air,” the station engineer said. Aberilla was heard gasping for breath and groaning in pain.

Moments later, the radio station stopped transmission.

The official Philippines News Agency quoted police as saying they recovered nine empty shells, three expended slugs from a .45-caliber pistol and three bullets.

Aberilla was a retired public school principal, the local chairman of a civilian elections watchdog group and a columnist for a weekly tabloid.

The news agency said Aberilla had recently criticized the “underground movement” and denounced as “communist-inspired” an anti-government rally held in Iligan during Easter week.