MANILA, Philippines: A radio commentator was shot dead as he was leaving work, becoming the eighth journalist killed in the Philippines this year, police said Wednesday.
Leo Mila, 38, of Radio Natin in San Roque township in Northern Samar province, was heading to the gate of the station's compound on his motorcycle when shots rang out late Tuesday, police and colleagues said.
Authorities found his bullet-riddled body sprawled in a grassy area near the toppled motorbike, said police investigator Amer Lagrimas.
Police have no immediate suspects and no witnesses have come forward, he said.
Station manager Alice Cagro told The Associated Press that Mila recently discussed alleged anomalies involving money collected from students' parents in a local school.
Lagrimas said two teachers from the high school will be questioned.
Cagro said Mila's early morning program was devoted to public service, mainly discussing citizen complaints sent by text message. He also wrote reports for various tabloids in his province and recently published a local magazine, An Peryodista.
Cagro is survived by his wife, 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.
Attacks on reporters exposing graft and wrongdoing are frequent in the Philippines, especially in far-flung provinces. At least seven others were killed this year, including another Radio Natin commentator, Arecio Padrigao, who was fatally shot on Nov. 17.
More than 60 journalists have been killed since 2001, making the Philippines one of the world's most dangerous places for reporters.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has criticized the government for moving too slowly to solve the cases. Philippine officials complain investigations are often hampered by witnesses who are reluctant to come forward for fear of retribution.
Leo Luna Mila, 35, a news anchorman and commentator of Radyo Natin, was gunned down Tuesday in San Roque, Northern Samar, Philippines. Mila was shot 12 times while leaving work. As publisher of the local magazine Peryodista and host of another radio program "Bungkaras" (Wake Up), he had been critical of the New People's Army's forced taxation. He had received threats through text messages last September.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Mila is the 8th journalist killed in the Philippines this year and the 62nd since 2001, when President  Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power. A total of 122 media people have been murdered since President Cory Aquino overthrew the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice's Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, chairman of the "Task Force 211" - Against Political Violence and Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines, announced that a probe team would be sent to Northern Samar. The Northern Samar provincial police office has also formed "Task Force Mila" to investigate the killing. Two local politicians, including San Roque Mayor Andre Avalon, have offered a P100,000 (US$2 067.80) bounty for any information leading to the capture of the suspects.

Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said, "it is time for the central government, as well as local authorities, to promptly address the climate of impunity that is facilitating rising violence against Philippine journalists. Mila's murder is a reminder that police throughout the Philippines must respond immediately with investigations and protection when journalists are threatened for their work."