2 tabloid columnists shot dead

MANILA, Philippines - Two tabloid columnists were gunned down in Quezon City late Tuesday night.

Bonifacio Loreto Jr., 47, and Richard Kho, 59, publisher and executive editor, respectively of Aksyon Ngayon, were shot dead by motorcycle-riding men in Barangay Commonwealth, said Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

Marcelo said the victims wrote columns for the tabloid, which reportedly had only one issue so far.

Investigation showed the victims were talking in front of Loreto’s store along Pilot Drive in Barangay Commonwealth when two men armed with caliber .45 and .9mm handguns fired shots at them past 11 p.m.

The victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot, police said.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano said they could not determine yet if the killings of Loreto and Kho were job related.

Police said the victims did not receive death threats prior to the attack.