Malacanang condemned the killing of a reporter in Manila on Friday and vowed to go after his attackers.

“Unang-una ay nakikiramay po tayo sa pamilya ni Alex Balcoba, reporter ng pahayagang People’s Brigada, na napaslang kahapon sa Quiapo, Lungsod ng Maynila,” Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said in a radio interview Saturday.

“Kinokondena po natin ang krimeng ito at kasalukuyang sinisayasat ito ng Philippine National Police upang alamin at tugisin kung sino man ang maaaring naging responsable.”

Alex Balcoba, 56, was shot dead in Quiapo, Manila late Friday outside a watch repair shop owned by his family. The two gunmen fled on a motorcycle after shooting the victim.

The attack on Balcoba brought to more than 30 the number of journalists killed in the Philippines since 2010.

According to Balcoba’s colleagues, he worked as a news reporter and columnist at the People’s Brigada and has written about the Manila police since the 1990s. PND (as)