PUT up one more point on the tally board detailing the kills media practitioners in this country have suffered over the past 15 months.
That is exactly one year and three months to the day, and the number has reached 13 over the past year and already four in just the first three months of the current year. more
By Radzini Oledan
Spice of life
DEATH comes to those who dare to speak out against malfeasance and thievery of public funds.
Columnist Marlene Esperat, 45, was shot dead in front of her children last Thursday, March 24, in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat. She was the third Filipino journalist murdered this year, the 65th since 1986. more
Sun.Star Network Online will do a running account on the decision and promulgation of the Marlene Esperat murder case on October 6, 2006. The promulgation is scheduled 10 a.m. at Branch 21 of the Cebu Regional Trial Court in Cebu City.
Read more about the Esperat murder case.
Marlene Esperat, 46, was a chemist who became an anti-corruption activist and columnist for the Midland Review, a community paper in central Mindanao.
She was gunned down on March 24, 2005, at her home in Tacurong City while taking supper as her daughter and two sons watched in horror.
Before her death, she filed two dozen graft and corruption cases and other complaints of irregularities against local and national officials before the Ombudsman and other quasi-judicial bodies.
These cases include the P432 million fertilizer scam involving former Department of Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, former National Food Authority Administrator now PMS head Arthur Yap, and many other key DA officials.
She was also instrumental in furnishing vital information on the P728 million fertilizer scam, which led the Senate to cite Bolante in contempt and seek his arrest. (Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility)