Reporter Jesus Malabanan, who covered the Duterte drug war, was killed in the Philippines

PHOTO/S: JESUS MALABANAN/FACEBOOK

According to news reports, an unidentified motorcycle assailant shot journalist Jesus "Jess" Malabanan in the head of his family's store in Calbayog City, Samar province, yesterday about 6 p.m. On arrival at St. Camillus Hospital, the journalist was pronounced dead.

Rappler quoted a Reuters colleague as stating that Malabanan contributed reporting to Reuters' Pulitzer Prize-winning series covering President Rodrigo Duterte's lethal drug war. He also served as a longtime stringer for the news agency.

Philippine police say they are conducting a "hot pursuit operation" after the suspects fled north after the killing, according to a statement from the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

Malabanan requested police security measures in 2017, according to the group's statement, which did not specify why he wanted those measures or how long they lasted. 

The Philippines ranked seventh on CPJ's Impunity Index, which highlights countries worldwide where journalists are killed and their killers go free.

* This article contains information that was sourced from the Committee to Protect Journalists.