Manila: An outspoken radio commentator was shot dead in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, southwestern Philippines yesterday morning, police said.

A gunman with a 45-calibre weapon shot Dr. Gerardo Ortega, a veterinarian and daily radio commentator, in the head and killed him at a second-hand clothes shop in San Pedro Village, Puerto Princesa City, yesterday morning.

It happened after he got out of his car and entered the shop.

Policemen arrested a suspected killer, identified as Marvin Alcaraz, who managed to flee on foot.

Alcaraz, a resident of Metro Manila's suburban Taguig, said his plan was to rob and not kill Ortega.

Investigators will find if the Ortega's killing was work related.

"We still cannot say if [his murder] was related to his work as a radio commentator. The killer has accomplices who are still being hunted," desk officer Robert Dagala said.

Ortega was an environment activist who promoted his causes in Your Radio Nationwide's DWAR radio station. He waged a campaign against all mining projects in Palawan in a radio programme titled "Ramatak".

He was also the programme manager of Philippine Ecotourism Palawan, a project of the ABS-CBN Foundation

"He was a staunch critic of the current governor [of Palawan]," said the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), adding the national government "must resolve all media killings and put an end to the culture of impunity in the country".

Ortega was the 142nd journalist killed since 1986, after the ouster of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and the second journalist to be killed under the administration of President Benigno Aquino, NUJP said. Aquino has said he intends to make the Philippines safer for journalists.

Journalists in danger

Thirty journalists were among 57 people murdered in the southern Philippines in 2009, allegedly by members of a powerful Muslim clan who wanted to eliminate a rival's political challenge.

Media and rights groups say journalists face this level of danger because of a culture of impunity in which powerful figures believe they are above the law, combined with a high level of gun ownership.

Ortega was a former village board member and once lost his bid for a gubernatorial post. He leaves behind a wife, Patricia, four daughters and one son.

— With inputs from agencies