Larry Que

Larry Que, also known as Uktoy, (ca. 1963 – December 20, 2016), was a Filipino publisher and journalist for the Catanduanes News Now newspaper. He was killed two weeks after he had written an article linking government officials to a major drug seizure of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, in the town of Virac in Catanduanes, Philippines.

Personal life Larry Que was married to Edralyn Pangilinan. He was well known within the Virac community and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in May 2016.

Career Que was a journalist for many years. He had just begun to publish the local newspaper Catanduanes News Now at the time of his killing. He was also the owner of an insurance agency, called Liberty Insurance Company, in Virac, as well as several other business. In May 2016 Que unsuccessfully ran for mayor of his hometown Virac.

Death In the weeks prior to his killing, Que published an article about a recent drug bust conducted by police in Catanduanes, Philippines.

The investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation has yet to solve the killing of Que. In the article Que claimed that the local authorities were negligent within the investigation.

According to CNN Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte sent the community many different messages relating to his governments commitment to protect journalists. Before taking the oath to become the countries president, Duterte said, "Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a bitch. Freedom of expression cannot help you if you have done something wrong." Que was one of among three Filipino journalists to have been killed in 2016. An attempt was made on the life of journalist Virgilio Maganes of Dagupan in November 2016.

Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said, "We deplore the brutal murder of Larry Que in the Philippines yesterday. Que's murder demonstrates the increasing challenges that journalists in the Philippines face reporting on drugs. Action needs to be taken by the Duterte administration to guarantee the safety and security of the media across the country, and work to strengthen the freedom of the press to report on stories of public interest."

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines' public message to the Duterte administration included an appeal to "end its penchant of falsely blaming media for deliberately misinterpreting its often inconsistent and incoherent messages and instead working on making its communications crystal-clear."