EU, Japan, UK, German envoys condemn killing of broadcaster

MANILA, Philippines — The ambassadors of the European Union, Japan, United Kingdom and Germany condemned the killing of radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon as he was hosting a news commentary program over 94.7 Calamba Gold FM in Misamis Occidental on Sunday morning.

German Ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke said, “Germany condemns the killing of a journalist and supports President Marcos Jr. call for a thorough investigation.”

“Free and independent journalism is the basis of a vibrant and lively democracy. Impunity must not be tolerated,” Pfaffernoschke said on X.

EU Ambassador Luc Véron said in a post also on X that “attacks on journalists are always unacceptable.”

“Like what Pres.@bongbongmarcos said, ‘Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated’ since it can threaten the essence of democracy,” Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa said in a post on X.

British Ambassador Laure Beaufils said she was shocked by the murder as she called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice promptly.

“A free media is the cornerstone of democracy. Journalists must be able to do their job free of violence,” Beaufils wrote on X.

All four envoys expressed condolences to Jumalon’s family.

Senators also condemned the killing, which they described as an “attack on democracy.”

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said he could not get the attack scene “out of my head” after watching a video of what happened to Jumalon, also known as DJ Johnny Walker.

“These people should be put to justice at the soonest possible time. I would suggest that the President create a task force of all the best government agents from the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to the PNP (Philippine National Police) even to members of the military to come up with a task force to end journalist killings and to be able to help solve these crimes that have already transpired,” Zubiri said.

Jumalon, 57, is the second journalist killed this year and the fourth under the Marcos administration.

Sen. Grace Poe said “the killing of Jumalon is utterly barbaric and has no place in a civilized society.”

“We support a thorough and swift investigation to bring the perpetrators before the law. As an equally important