FILIPINO DIRECTOR MOVES FROM TV TO FILM AND DIES

Luigi Santiago was shot and killed by a gunman in a bar/cafe in Makati City, Metro Manila on Wednesday morning. Five others were injured before the gunman fled.

Santiago was the director of the popular television show, Nginig, which is a documentary-style show about the paranormal. He was raised in the US and attended NYU before directing Nginig, and he yearned to direct feature films. His first film, a feature version of NGINIG, was just completed.

This is not part of the wave of journalist murders in the Philippines that has seen 66 murders since democracy arrived in 1986 (and there hasn't been a single conviction in any of these cases). There were ten in 2004, and five so far this year.

Jose Torres Jr., who works at the same network as Luigi Santiago (ABS-CBN) writes that some journalists now pack heat.

(Thanks to Kung Fu Cult Cinema)