The columnist for the tabloid Remate was killed by assailants on a motorbike who shot him four times in the back. Brinoes, popularly known as ‘Dos por Dos’ after the radio show he used to host, was a hard-hitting journalist, having also published the local Masbate Tribune. In 2000, Brinoes was sentenced to 12 years in jail after been found guilty of six libel charges. He served five year of the sentence, after which he was released on parole in 2005. Following his release, he was harassed and intimidated by the local authorities, including in 2009 when the Masbate provincial vice governor brought a lawsuit against him. The vice governor filed libel allegations against the then editor the Masbate Tribune.
