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FEATURE/Media Murders/Aug. 16, 2004 Int'l press group raps killingsTHE INTERNATIONAL Federation of Journalists called Monday (Aug. 16) upon the Philippine government to establish an independent inquiry over the failure of the authorities to prosecute suspects in the murder of 55 journalists in the country since 1986. In a nationwide protest Monday, journalists across the Philippines wore black and participated in protest rallies organized by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, an IFJ affiliate, to protest the continued failure of the government to prosecute anyone for the murders. "Despite attempts by the government of the Philippines to curb the rising death toll, the message does not appear to be getting through," said IFJ President Christopher Warren. "It is time a strong and simple message was sent to all -- that shooting journalists will not be tolerated and those who commit these crimes will be found and brought to justice." The IFJ and the NUJP renewed the call for an independent inquiry after the murder of Fernando Consignado and the shooting of Edward Balida last week. Consignado, a reporter on community affairs for Radio Veritas, was found dead last Aug. 12 at his home in Nagcarlan. He had a gunshot wound in the head. Colleagues have suggested his death is linked to his expose of anomalies in community projects in Nagcarlan. Police are also looking into the possibility of a connection to a land dispute with relatives. On Aug. 13, Balida, commentator for radio station IFM-DXVR in Valencia City, was shot in the public market while parking his motorcycle. He says the attack was connected to his reporting on drugs. Consignado was the sixth journalist to be killed this year. Seven were killed last year. TENTATIVE VICTORY In Quezon City, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines held as a victory a police order Monday creating a dedicated "manhunt" team for a cop-killer of a respected Mindanao journalist. The NUJP, which led more than 100 media practitioners in a protest march to Camp Crame, the national police headquarters in Quezon City, also got the Philippine National Police to assign a team for each of the 55 journalists slain since 1986. The PNP agreed to the NUJP's proposal to assign a media liaison officer for each team. The marchers held a "die-in" before participating in the dialogue with top police officers in Crame. "This is a victory. It is obviously not enough and journalists will not rest until every murder of a colleague is given justice," the NUJP said after the dialogue. The march and dialogue were covered by most newspapers, radio stations and television stations in the capital, and covered live by some TV organizations. MASS INDIGNATION The NUJP hailed media groups for the show of unity. Protests were also held in General Santos City, where 70 journalists joined a motorcade and lit candles in front of the city police station, and held a two-hour rally. In Pagadian City, the NUJP joined forces with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and the Zamboanga del Sur Press Club in their protest action, simulcast over five major stations, with a joint statement published in seven newspapers. In Bacolod City, journalists held a rally at the Fountain of Justice and marched around city streets, in red and black shirts. The protest action was joined by the local NUJP chapter, the Negros Press Club, the Congress of Active Media Practitioners, COBRA-Ans, and the Young Journalists' Forum. In Iloilo City, journalists from the NUJP, eight newspapers, five radio stations and two television stations, rallied as radio anchors read the names of 55 journalists murdered since 1986. The NUJP chapter also demanded updates on the cases of four local journalists slain in the province. The Manila protest action was also joined by the Batangas Newswriters' Association, the Press Photographers of the Philippines, the Philippine Center for Photojournalism, the Center for Community Journalism Development, the Mindanao Institute for Journalism, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, and Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP. REWARDS OR ASSISTANCE? NUJP officers later went to the House of Representatives where congressmen filed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the spate of media killings, four in the last two weeks. Six journalists were murdered in the Philippines in 1986, only one death shy of the 1987 record, when the country tied with Colombia as the world's most dangerous place for journalists. Speaker Jose de Venecia offered a P2-million reward for information leading to the arrest of media persons' murderers but congressmen later said they still have to finalize the mechanism. Legislators still have to decide whether to use the fund for rewards, or for the welfare of victims' families. Many of the victims were poor provincial journalists paid on a piecemeal basis for their work. ARROYO REACTION President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also ordered the police and the justice department to work with the media to solve and stop the spate of attacks on journalists that has claimed six lives this year. Arroyo said in a statement that "the violence committed against media practitioners has reached a point of serious concern." She added: "I am directing the (national police) and the NBI (justice department's National Bureau of Investigation) to team up with media organizations nationally and locally to get to the root of these crimes and protect journalists under threat.” The special manhunt team was ordered for former policeman Guillermo Wapile, suspect in the killing of Pagadian journalist Edgar Damalerio two years ago. Aside from ordering the manhunt for Wapile, the police also ordered a team created for every slain journalist, and agreed to have the NUJP assign media officers to these teams, as well as to the national Task Force Media. The dialogue with the police had provincial journalists from Batangas, Lucena, Laguna and Mindanao speaking on the murder cases of their colleagues. It also featured a brief heart-tugging appeal by Rowena Endrinal, daughter of slain Bicol journalist Rowell Endrinal. Journalists were stunned when senior PNP officials fumbled with facts as Merpu Roa of the Mindanao Institute for Journalism, and the Center for Community Journalist Development, challenged authorities to explain the continued freedom of Wapile, despite media's attempts to provide tips on his whereabouts. NUJP director Jose Torres, an editor of ABS-CBN.com and an award-winning journalist, also pointed out that Camp Crame had earlier sent a special team to Pagadian City, only to have it return empty-handed. NUJP chairperson Inday Espina-Varona then proposed the assignment of media officers to the task forces, noting that it could help bridge the information gap in the PNP. [Top] * * * (POSTSCRIPT comes out in the Philippine STAR every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Its online edition is uploaded the night before at http://www.manilamail.com) |
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