Former Nueva Ecija journalist killed

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility releases an alert on the Grande killing today:

Former Nueva Ecija journalist killed
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility

Two men on a motorcycle killed and robbed a former radio and newspaper reporter on 7 December 2006 in his farm in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, a province north of Manila.

Ponciano Grande, who had worked for The Recorder and The Nueva Ecija Times, died from five bullet wounds fired from a .45-caliber pistol. Annie Liwag, Grande’s common-law partner who hosts a radio program in dwJJ, said the gunmen were in their late teens.

Liwag said the assailants took P174,000 (US$3,480) from Grande. The money was supposed to pay for expenses in the farm.

Grande used to write for the two community papers and served as assistant information writer for dwNE until 2000 when he and Liwag decided to give full attention to their farm. Grande was also a board director of the Nueva Ecija Press Club (NEPC) from 1992 to 1993. Liwag said she believes the killing was not related to Grande’s previous work as a journalist. He has also not received any threat before he was killed.

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