MANILA, Philippines - Two journalists based in Kidapawan City received text messages revealing an alleged plan to kill a colleague after the May 2013 elections, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said Tuesday, January 15.

The subject of the reported assassination plan is Joy Francisco, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Kidapawan City weekly Southern Voice Journal, said NUJP-Kidapawan City chairperson Malu Manar, one of the journalists who received the messages.

Manar said the sender of the messages identified himself as a member of a gun-for-hire group suspected to be involved in the 2011 murder of Italian priest Fr Fausto "Pops" Tenorio in North Cotabato.

He claimed that the staff member of a local politician contacted a member of his group and promised to pay them P100,000 for the operation. He said he chose to divulge the plan to kill Francisco after learning that the target is a woman, according to Manar.

Francisco has been a staunch critic of a local politician in Kidapawan City but she said it is also possible that other people may be taking advantage of her well-known tiff with this local politician to mislead her.

"It is unclear why the text was sent to Manar and not directly to Francisco," NUJP said.

Francisco, who is also one of the convenors of Watch Cotabato - a group of media and civil society organizations in North Cotabato - has reported the matter to the police. - Rappler.com