The victim, a former legal researcher at the National Irrigation Administration, had been writing about missing funds, half-built canals, and contracts that smelled of rot
Long before the gunmen came, Niruh Kyle Antatico had been making enemies in the place he worked.
The former legal researcher at the National Irrigation Administration had been writing about missing funds, half-built canals, and contracts that smelled of rot. On Friday, October 10, he was shot dead while driving — silenced, it seemed, for telling the kind of allegations that the corrupt try to bury.
Lawyers’ and citizens’ groups and a congressman condemned on Saturday, October 11, the shooting death of Antatico, a law graduate, in broad daylight in Barangay Patag, Cagayan de Oro.
Dashcam footage captured the shooting carried out by two motorcycle-riding men, and police said an investigation was underway but did not confirm a motive.
Antatico had been posting on social media allegations of overpricing, substandard project implementation, and “ghost” irrigation works in Lanao del Sur. Reports said he had received death threats prior to his killing.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Misamis Oriental condemned the murder and called it an attack on the rule of law.
“Any attack on a person seeking accountability is an attack on the rule of law itself, and we cannot allow fear and impunity to erode the foundations of justice and public service,” the IBP said.
It urged authorities to conduct a “swift, impartial, and thorough investigation” into the killing and to explore possible links between Antatico’s corruption exposés and his death.
The group said it was ready to assist in lawful investigations and provide guidance to others with knowledge of government wrongdoing.
The Tandu Legis Fraternitas also mourned Antatico’s death and called it “a grave loss to all who value courage, integrity, and the pursuit of truth in public service.”
The Philippines: Law graduate shot dead for exposing corruption
