Bangkok, October 16, 2026 —Philippine authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of broadcast journalist Adrian “Golden Boy” Loterte, identify and arrest those responsible, and ensure they are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Loterte, an anchor at the local “Rabas Cun Rabas” online program on RBN News Television and a freelance broadcaster on DWIZ FM, was shot at about 4:10 p.m. on Monday at his bakery in Barangay San Roque, Daraga, a municipality in the Bicol region’s Albay province, according to a police report.
“Authorities must promptly identify, apprehend, and prosecute the perpetrators behind the killing of broadcast journalist Adrian Loterte,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration does more to end impunity in media murder cases, these grotesque attacks on the press will continue.”
One of two unidentified suspects opened fire before both escaped on a black-and-white Honda Click motorcycle, according to Bicol police spokesperson Lt. Col. Maria Luisa Calubaquib.
Police recovered eight spent shells from a .45-caliber pistol at the crime scene. Loterte sustained four gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on arrival at Daraga Doctors Hospital.
In an October 13 briefing, Police Regional Office 5 Director Randy Glenn Silvio said a special investigation task group was established to identify the suspects and their motive, and that investigators were reviewing CCTV footage to trace the perpetrators’ movements before and after the crime.
Silvio said police were examining possible work, personal and business-related motives. The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS), a state body tasked with investigating media murders, said it had also opened an investigation into Loterte’s killing and was coordinating with law enforcement agencies, without speculating on a motive.
The Philippine National Police and PTFOMS did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed requests for comment. CPJ research shows that the Philippines is consistently among the top nations worldwide where media murders go unresolved.