Melinda Magsino

Melinda "Mei" Magsino, (January 8, 1975 – 13 April 2015), was a former Filipino investigative journalist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was known particularly for political and corruption exposés about Batangas City committed by the Dimacuha clan and Batangas province governments, Philippines. Her life had already been threatened once before in 2005. She also received threats before her murder in 2015.

Personal Melinda Magsino was the daughter of a Philippine Army Colonel Danilo Magsino and Amelita, and came from a large family of six sisters and a brother. She had resided in Batangas City, where she worked as a political journalist, and was buried April 19, 2015. She was forced to leave PDI after an internal committee looked into allegations against her, including questionable ties to businesses and sources and competitor recruiting.

During her six-year career with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, she exposed corruption within the Batangas City government, specifically that of late Batangas Governor Armando Sanchez. In 2005, Magsino exposed illegal gambling activities and called him a "jueteng lord" (gambling lord).

She once provided a voice over for a documentary on TV5. After 2005, she wrote for Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and after 2008, the Vera Files.

Death Before Magsino was killed, she posted on her Facebook that she received death threats and was harassed.

Magsino was shot by two gunmen riding a motorcycle on April 13, 2015, at age 40. The shooting occurred at noon right outside of the apartment Magsino shared with Benjamin Reyes in Barangay, Balagtas, Batangas. The two suspects allegedly waited outside of the apartment for Magsino, with men in a van serving as backup. Magsino was shot close up in the back of the neck with a .45 caliber with the bullet's exit out of her left eye, and she died immediately. Security video caught the killers in the act. The NBI of Philippines, however, also were investigating a love triangle, but that motive was dismissed.

As of May 8, 2015, the NBI was still looking for men in a maroon van at the crime scene. The NBI also holds Magsino's computer and cell phone. Under President Benigno Aquino III's administration, she was the 32nd journalist to have been killed and 173rd journalist since 1986.

After Magsino's death, five Batangas cops were removed from their positions due to their failure to prevent the murder.

Impact Magsino won an award within the PDI for the co-written story "Swiss government probes $2-M Nani account," which was co-written with Clarissa Batino. Magsino used unnamed officials' disclosure of the government's investigation of Justice Secretary Hernando Perez for money laundering.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said, "Mei's murder not only highlights the fact that leaving journalism is no guarantee of safety from the perils of the profession – especially not from those with long memories and deadly intent – it also underscores the depths to which the culture of impunity has become entrenched in our country and society, courtesy of a government that has shown only the most cursory regard for human rights."

Jane Worthington, Asia Pacific acting director International Federation of Journalists, said, "The IFJ offer its condolences to the family and colleagues of Melinda (Magsino) who was murdered in cold blood. This senseless murder highlights the challenges facing journalists across the Philippines."

Inquirer publisher Raul Pangalangan said, "It falls upon us to make sure that indeed (Magsino's) death doesn't become just another statistic."

Partner Benjie Reyes said, "We just wanna see justice done. We wanna get these people (the perpetrators) off the streets because if not, they will keep repeating what they do."

In an email to Rappler responding to Magsino's death, media ethicist Luis Teodoro wrote, "Any journalist killed diminishes the number of voices necessary in democratic discourse. The possibility of (journalism) being abused is part of the risks of free expression. The abuse of press freedom can and should be addressed through self regulation."