|
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Broadcaster killed in Sorsogon
MANILA -- A provincial left-wing leader and outspoken radio broadcaster has been assassinated in the latest deadly attack on leftists in the Philippines, police said Saturday.
No arrests have been made in connection with the death of Ricardo Uy, head of the local chapter of the left-wing Bayan Muna party in Sorsogon City, Sorsogon Province, said Provincial Police Chief Arnold Revilla.
"The investigation is still going on and all possible angles are being studied," Revilla said.
Uy was gunned down Friday at his family's rice mill in Sorsogon city, 370 kilometers (230 miles) southeast of Manila. The killer escaped on a motorcycle, police said.
Uy, 57, was also a broadcaster on Sorsogon's DZRS radio. He was the seventh journalist killed in the Philippines this year.
Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino said he suspected the military was involved in the death of Uy, the 67th member of the party killed since 2001 and the third this month. None of the deaths have been solved, Casino said.
Uy had accused the military of human rights violation on his radio program "News Flash and Commentaries." The military had used its own radio show to link Uy to communist rebels.
"The pattern is definitely the same (as the other killings)--vilification by military elements before death," Casino said.
"The man had no enemies and his family could not imagine any other motive for the killing."
Armed forces spokesman Colonel Tristan Kison denied any military involvement.
"The armed forces believe in the rule of law and we follow this. We will not take any action that will violate human rights," he said.
Kison said military broadcasts were meant to raise public awareness about how the government and armed forces were working to improve the welfare of the people.
"We believe this war (against communist insurgents) is about winning the hearts and minds of the people," he said.
Jose Torres Jr. of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned Uy's killing "as a dastardly act against a citizen, a member of media and against press freedom."
National Police Chief Arturo Lomibao has ordered a special task force to investigate the killing.
The databases of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines showed there were 68 cases of media killings from 1986 to May 2005.
Of that number, 32 or close to half took place during the Arroyo administration. It was also during the Arroyo administration that the Philippines gained the title of "Most Dangerous Nation for Journalists Outside War Zones" by international media organizations.
A Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) article published in the September-October issue of the Philippine Journalism Review stated that since 1986, 54 journalists had been slain in the line of duty while an estimated 17 were killed for reasons not involving their work or a total of 71.
The CMFR study showed that only two of the 54 cases have actually led to convictions. These are the cases of radio station dzMM deskman Alberto Berbon, who was killed in December 1996, and Nesino Paulin Toling, publisher-editor of Ozamiz City's Panguil Bay Monitor, who was killed in April 1991. In both cases, those convicted were the assassins and not the masterminds.
(November 20, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Explain budget, Cebu governor urged