Press Freedom Protection Archives | Page 64 of 76

Case against Mike Arroyo to continue

Now that the legal impediments have been resolved with finality, the 36 journalists and three media organizations that filed a P12.5 million class suit against the husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can expect the case to proceed. Lawyer Harry Roque told CMFR In a 28 May 2010 interview that...

Local police chief threatens radio journalist

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – The Philippine National Police has ordered the temporary relief of a town police chief after his alleged 20 May 2010 harassment of a Manila-based radio broadcaster. The relief order came after Noel Alamar, a reporter for dzMM Radyo Patrol and president of the Philippine National Police (PNP)...

No arrests in attempt on broadcaster

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – Police have yet to arrest the gunman and accomplice in the attempted killing of a Kalinga-based radio broadcaster in Tabuk City, Kalinga province last 15 May 2010. Tabuk City, Kalinga is approximately 317 kilometers north of Manila. The alleged gunman chased Jerome Tabanganay, radio anchor for government-run...

Alleged gunman in 2004 journalist’s murder killed

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A police officer shot dead the alleged gunman in the 2004 killing of a Batangas-based journalist last 19 October 2009, a day before his arraignment. The police said the shooting was accidental. Batangas is a province approximately 90 kilometers from Manila. Three policemen were bringing Michael Garcia,...

Transfer of venue of case against alleged masterminds in Esperat murder granted

CMFR/PHILIPPINES-The venue of the case against the alleged masterminds in the killing of Sultan Kudarat-based journalist Marlene Esperat has been transferred to Makati City with the Philippine Supreme Court’s grant of a petition for the change. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) received a copy of the...

Action Requested

Almost a month has passed since Vietnamese authorities arrested a press freedom advocate for allegedly distributing “anti-state propaganda” at his home in Ho Chi Minh City on June 13. Vietnamese authorities charged Le Cong Dinh with violating Article 88 of the Vietnam Criminal Code which penalizes the “crime of...

Incoherent

Cheers and Jeers to GMA-7’s Case Unclosed June 4 episode, “Danyos”, which looked into how the government has failed to indemnify the victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime. Cheers for selecting a topic that, despite its significance, has been relegated to the background in the discussion...

A Philippine court convicts one journalist’s killer; another acquits a suspect in a separate case

CMFR/PHILIPPINES—Two local courts recently decided two separate cases of work-related killing of broadcasters in Region XI (Davao Region). Eight out of the 78 work-related killing of journalists/media practitioners since 1986 happened in Region XI. On 22 April 2009, Judge George Omelio of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 14...

A reminder to U.S. President Barack Obama

The news on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s current itinerary (Davos, Milan and Bahrain and now a “side-trip” to Washington DC) has not recorded attendant public reaction. No critical notes from the usual voices in the political opposition. No readings of public opinion about the point of so much globe-trotting....

Press Freedom Continued to Decline in 2008

By JB Santos PRESS FREEDOM again took a beating in 2008 as the number of journalists killed in the line of duty, one of the most telling indicators of threat to press freedom, rose to six from two recorded cases in 2007. The Philippines’ ranking in world press freedom...