Journalists threatened for reporting anomalies

CFMR/Philippines – For discussing anomalies in their communities, a newspaper publisher, a columnist and a TV reporter were threatened with death in two separate incidents in two Philippine cities.

In Legazpi City, Albay, a publisher and a columnist received a death threat after the columnist wrote about local issues in the province. Legazpi City, Albay is approximately 556 kilometers south of Manila.

Leonardo Balsarza Jr., publisher, editor and general manager of The Mayon Times (TMT) told the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) that his son found a brown envelope containing a .38 caliber bullet with the words “Doronela and Balsarza Warning” written in red ink on the envelope in front of their house in Legazpi City at around 7:00 AM last 27 June 2012.

Doronela is TMT columnist Lamberto Dorone, who told the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) that he writes on local issues in his column. He also hosts a radio program in Legazpi City. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Union-of-Journalists-of-the-Philippines/229482870373)

The threat was the first in Balsarza’s career as a publisher. Balsarza has been in the media since the 1950s.

Meanwhile, in Butuan City, a provincial reporter of a TV station also received death threats for reporting on illegal logging in their region. Butuan City is approximately 790 km south of Manila.

Richmond Hinayon, provincial reporter of ABS-CBN told CMFR that he received a text message from an unknown sender with the mobile number +639264942986 last 24 July 2012 that reads: “Bilang na lang araw mo! (Your days are numbered).”

Hinayon told CMFR that the sender kept calling him that day but he ignored the calls. After a few more calls, Hinayon said he received the text message.  CMFR tried to call the number used to send the threat but could not reach it.

Hinayon also said that on the morning of 29 July 2012, a boy handed a brown envelope to the station’s security guard. The guard gave the envelope to Hinayon’s fellow reporter, Rodge Cultura, who was there at that time.

When Cultura opened the envelope, it contained a single bullet. Hinayon said that the threat was probably meant to stop them from reporting on illegal logging in their region. Hinayon added that the journalists in their region have been writing against illegal logging.

Last 25 November 2011, after he called the attention of local authorities to the activities of the big player in illegal logging who is connected with government officials, Cultura himself was warned that a gunman had been hired to kill him.

Other Mindanao journalists have also been threatened with death for reporting on illegal logging. Edwin Iyo, Herbie Gomez and Ernesto Chu of the Cagayan de Oro City-based Gold Star Daily received a threatening text message after running a story about illegal logging last 19 June 2012. (http://www.cmfr-phil.org/2012/06/25/mindanao-journalists-threatened-over-illegal-logging-story/)

The number (+63-933-535-2774) used to send the text message to Gomez was also used to send a threatening text message to Sassie Babar and Gerry Campos, anchors of the Radio Mindanao Network program “Straight to the Point” who received the threat after discussing illegal logging issues in their program.