Killing of Reporters Continues Unabated in Philippines: Report
Danny Chan
Violence against journalists continues to impede press freedom in the Philippines, according to a new report. Reporters Without Borders, a non-governmental organization, stated in its annual report that murders, assaults, arrests, lawsuits and censorship all hindered freedom of the press in the Philippines last year.
In its report released on Feb. 1, Reporters Without Borders further gave a failing grade to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration for its inability to safeguard press freedom. The Paris-based organization stated that notwithstanding the arrests of alleged killers, officials were unable to stem the violence against the press.
The study found six Philippine journalists were killed in 2006, including Rolly Caneta, Fernando Batul and Orlando Mendoza. All had received death threats prior to their murders. The report also censured the authorities’ failure to search for Joey Estriber, a reporter who was abducted after he criticized the region’s illegal logging.
The NGO further rebuked First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo who launched libel suits against 43 reporters. Mr. Arroyo, the president’s husband, filed the lawsuits after they filed articles accusing him of corruption.
He has claimed P141 million in damages against the journalists and their publications; 42 reporters in turn filed a countersuit on Dec. 28 seeking a symbolic P125 million in damages against Mr. Arroyo for alleged violations of press freedom and civil rights.
The report specifically stated “the barrage of libel suits brought by the ‘First Gentleman’ in a country where defamation is still a criminal offense, put the liberty of scores of journalists in danger.”
“Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration has been widely criticized for its inability to act against the murderers of opposition and human rights activists. Some politically committed journalists have been victims of this political violence as in the case of Mazel and George Vigo who were killed on Mindanao Island in June. Community media demanding the rights of peasant farmers were also targeted. In July, armed men torched a building housing Radyo Cagayano, one of whose presenters, a peasant union leader, was killed a few months later. The military is suspected of being behind these attacks.
“While her husband was lodging ‘defamation’ complaints against more than 40 journalists, President Macapagal-Arroyo said, on 18 November 2006, that her government was ‘respectful of press freedom, an institution of Philippine democracy,’” the annual reported stated. But on the same day, journalist Ellen Tordesillas, a stern critic of the government, received an e-mail warning her: ‘Your days are numbered,’” the report said.
The survey moreover found the Philippines was the third most dangerous nation in the world for reporters; nine were killed in Mexico and 40 in Iraq.
Although Reporters Without Borders noted some convictions in reporter killings, such as the four men who were found guilty in the slaying of Marlene Esperat, the report cited “collusion inside the justice system allowed those who ordered the killing to escape court for the time being.”
Following the report’s release, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines criticized the Department of Justice’s filing of sedition charges against the Daily Tribune for publishing articles allegedly critical of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.
Jose Torres Jr, the union’s chairman, said in a statement that the charge against publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivares and columnists Herman Tiu Laurel and Ike Seneres “sends a chill wind across the Philippine media landscape.”
The justice department stated articles written by them “lead or stir up the people against the lawful authorities, namely, the President of the Philippines, and disturb the peace of the community.”
The journalists’ union retorted the allegation “betrays the government’s intent to silence a broad spectrum of legal dissent and sweep allegations of corruption, rights violations and other misdeeds under a thick cloud of fear.”
“The charge that critical write-ups undermine government officials and institutions is likewise typical of the administration’s penchant to blame media for scandals and controversies borne of official misconduct,” the union added. It compared the lawsuit to last year’s state of emergency, saying the case against the three demonstrate “that the demons of February 2006 that this administration sought to set loose on this land have not been exorcised.”
The journalists’ union finally stated it abandoned hope of the present administration embracing civil liberties and would instead call for “perpetual vigilance.”
“The NUJP will not even call on the government to withdraw the charges,” it said. “Instead, it calls on all media organizations and entities to support our Tribune colleagues in their fight against a tyrannical administration.”
The International Federation of Journalists, a Brussels-based NGO, states 47 journalists have been killed since Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo ascended to the presidency six years ago. Although the numbers are considerably higher due to differing accounting methods, it cites a trend consistent with statistics from Reporters Without Borders.
The IFJ states 34 reporters were killed during the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s 14 years in office and an equal number were murdered during Corazon Aquino’s six-year presidency. Under the Fidel Ramos administration, 19 reporters were slain while five were killed during Joseph Estrada’s three years in Malacańang.
