Saturday, December 29, 2007 Ocampo: A calling worth dying for By Tek Ocampo Newsroom
AROUND 7 p.m. on December 23, I received a text message from veteran radio commentator Ferdinand "Batman" Lintuan (Batman is short for "batang Mandaya" as Ferdie was a member of the Mandaya tribe).
He was asking me where I was at that time. It was the Christmas party of the Davao Sports Writers Association. Many media practitioners were present at the party. I replied that I was with my fiancĂ(c) and her family at a mall in Davao.
That was the last text message I received from Batman. The following day, Darios Relatado, Testigo's senior news desk relayed to me the shocking information that Batman was shot twice in the head and died on the spot. He had just left the radio station along R. Castillo Street, Agdao when the killing took place.
Members of the media, especially those who are close to the victim were baffled why Ferdie was gunned down. Who killed Batman? What is the motive? And who is the mastermind?
Batman is known for his talent in digging up anomalies in government offices and in securing documents that he uses to support his commentaries on the air.
Weeks before he died, he mentioned to me a number of issues that he was discussing over his program with dxGO. Among the issues he mentioned was about an alleged anomaly within the Bureau of Customs, a labor case against his former employer - dxRR, the floating status of some city hall employees and a questionable land title under the name of a landed family in Davao.
I only knew that he also discussed the issue about the People's Park and the taxi driver whom he reported to the Land Transportation Office on the day Batman was killed.
Lintuan had filed a complaint against the driver with LTO but withdrew the case after the driver went to his radio station and apologized for his mistake. The supposed hearing did not push through on December 7, 2007.
The killing of Batman somehow intensified the bickering between Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Representative Prospero Nograles. In widely publicized statements the mayor said he's the person who'd least benefit from Lintuan's death. Both denied that they have something to do with the murder. Both politicians offered rewards of P500,000 to show they're serious in their desire to have the case solved and the perpetrators put behind bars.
Dante Jimenez, president of the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption, appealed to all to spare the Lintuan case from politics.
The main issue in the murder of Lintuan is not Duterte or Nograles. The issue here is press freedom and justice for Batman. Somehow, it shows that in a country where lawmakers are not even safe in the House of Representatives, mediamen are most vulnerable, not really influential and powerful.
The role of the media remains very important in order to maintain the check and balance not only in government but also in society as a whole. The media are considered watchdogs against injustices, corruption and abuses in and out of government. Without the media, no one will expose such wrong doings.
Now I ask myself, is it still safe to be a media practitioner in this country? According to an international survey in 2006, the Philippines is the most dangerous place for media to work, second only to Iraq.
Although some people believe that arming media practitioners will solve the problem, I strongly disagree. In this day and age, arming media people will not prevent their enemies from harming them. Or else how explain the deadly attacks on politicians who are armed to the teeth and are escorted by an army of bodyguards.
Many media practitioners have been wasted since the Marcos regime. Lintuan is the fifth broadcaster killed in Davao City. I hope Lintuan's murder will not just be part of statistics.
It seems that government not only cannot protect the lives of media members, it has been shown in many instances that it cannot also meet justice on those who harm them.
Lawmakers and leaders of the media industry must be able to come up with policies to protect the media from harassment and violence. Failing to this, we cannot talk of democracy.
Fortunately for this country, legions of media practitioners remain determined to pursue their calling despite the hazards. They consider death threats only as part of their job. Yes, some of us might lose our lives in the line of duty, but majority will continue pursuing this noble calling. You ask me, is it worth the risk? Yes! I am one of those who believe it is a calling worth dying for.
