Only one day after a radio correspondent was found killed, another mediaman was Friday shot by unidentified gunman and lost a finger in the Philippines.

The victim, identified as Edward Balida who works for radio station dxBR in the southern islands of Mindanao, was on his way to work in Valencia town of Bukidnon province when he was attacked,his colleague Fredelyn Ragandang told a TV interview.

Ragandang suspected that the attack may be connected with Balida's reports although the police were investigating the possibility that Balida had been hit by a stray bullet.

Balida's case was the fifth crime committed on mediamen followed four killings of radio journalists in the past two weeks.

Unidentified gunmen killed Roger Mariano from radio dzIJ in Laoag City of Ilocos Norte province on July 31 and Arnel Manalo from dzRH in Bauan town of Batangas province on August 5.

On August 8, radio RGMA Superadyo's reporter Jonathan Abayon was shot in General Santos City of South Cotabato province and then died in hospital the next day.

On Thursday, Radio Veritas correspondent Fernando Consignado was found dead with a gunshot wound in Nagcarlan town, Laguna province.

In the light of series killings of journalists, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) started to draft concrete measures so as to force the government to act swiftly on past cases.

The NUJP also pledged to assist journalists under threat and organize a "media summit" that would address violence against the media.

Opposing to the suggestion to arm journalists, the NUJP called on police to ensure their safety and the capture of the killers.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday ordered the elite anti-crime task force to look into the recent murders of journalists and bring to jail the killers.

As all the suspects who have killed 11 journalists in the Philippines since 2003 remain at large, the NUJP said if the trendis not stopped, the Philippines could follow Colombia to become a country dangerous for practicing journalists.

Source: Xinhua