Sunday, August 15, 2004 Journalists to stage rally in Camp Crame over killings By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Media practitioners plan to hold a rally at Camp Crame Monday to protest the series of attacks perpetrated against journalists all over the country.
Caloy Conde, National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP) Davao chapter president, said assembly time would be at nine in the morning at the Soliven Tower near the Santolan MRT station.
NUJP members and other media groups like Press Photographers of the Philippines, Philippine Center for Photojournalism, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP and the Batangas Newswriters Association will attend the rally.
"We've been asking the authorities that question and they could not give us a straight answer. They say they have solved 14 cases but the Philippine National Police's definition of 'solved' is different from the definition by the rest of the world: it considers a case 'solved' if the suspect had been identified and if the case had been turned over to the Department of Justice for prosecution--no matter if the case was still pending or if the suspect was still at large. This is not only misleading--it mocks the justice system and the suffering of the families and friends of our fallen colleagues," the NUJP stated.
NUJP said 55 journalists were already killed since 1986. Just this year alone, six died due to job-related attacks, four happening just within the past two weeks.
"The failure by the authorities to solve the killings over the years is astounding. Not even President Arroyo's directive to the PNP chief Hermogenes Ebdane to resolve these murders has produced any positive results. Thus, the climate of impunity against journalists persisted," the group said.
Due to the series of attacks against media practitioners, authorities proposed for the giving of permit for journalists to carry firearms.
Authorities claimed that this would give enough protection for the journalists to defend their own selves if threatened.
Several media organizations however opposed the idea saying it is the basic duty of the police to give protection to anyone and should not be passing their obligation to the journalists.
Conde also criticized the alleged plan of the government to deploy soldiers posing as journalists as a means of stopping these series of killings.
"It isn't enough that government has failed to solve any of the media killings, it now wants to deploy soldiers posing as journalists. This is just too much," Conde said.
Last Friday an indignation rally was held in Davao City and attended by a handful of media practitioners.
President Arroyo earlier formed an elite police team to investigate the series of killings of journalists in the country.
Arroyo ordered the team to look into the murder of Fernando Consignado, a correspondent of Radio Veritas, who was found dead inside his house in Barangay Abu, Nagcarian, Laguna.
He had a gunshot wound to the head.
Chief Supt. Arturo Lomibao, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director, said the task force already started gathering evidence and information to determine who killed Consignado.
But even before the police investigation could really take off another journalist was shot and wounded by still unidentified men in Bukidnon province Friday morning.
Sketchy reports reaching Camp Crame said the victim was identified as Edward Balida of radio station dxBR, an affiliate of Radio Mindanao Network (RMN).
Balida was shot in the hand. He was on his way to work in Valencia town when the gunmen attacked him.
He was the sixth journalist to have been killed this year.
Prior to Consignado, Jun Abayon, a reporter of GMA 7's local radio station dxBB, was shot to death in General Santos City by William Bael, said to be a bodyguard of world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
Likewise, dzRH radio and Bulgar tabloid correspondent Arnel Manalo was ambushed by two still unidentified men in Barangay Mangihaw, Batangas City; Robert Mariano of station dzJC was shot dead in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte two weeks ago; and Rowell Endrinal of station dzRC was gunned down in Legazpi City in February.
(August 15, 2004 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
'Teach traders to save Carcar'