Crisis: National

Ilocos Norte reporter killed
A RADIO reporter and community paper journalist was stabbed to death on Dec. 20 last year in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
Andres “Andy” Acosta, 46, reporter for dzJC and the monthly community paper Northern Light, was on his way home from a Christmas party of reporters at the Northview Hotel in Laoag when he was stabbed by unknown attackers.
Acosta managed to get on his motorcycle and head for the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac. Witnesses saw him speeding on the national highway before collapsing from his motorcycle and dying from his stab wounds.
A journalist for the past nine years, Acosta covered mostly police stories.
The motive for his death is still unknown but Supt. Bienvenido Rayco, Batac police director, said revenge could be the reason. Acosta was believed to have encouraged his son to agree to be a witness in a murder case, thus possibly incurring the anger of the suspects in that case.
Rayco added that the reporter was also known to confront rowdy drunkards and take them to the police.
Three years ago, another reporter, Roger Mariano, who also worked for dzJC was killed on July 31, 2004. His case is being heard at the Manila Regional Trial Court branch 59. The suspect, Apolonio Medrano, a former policeman, is being tried for murder. Mariano’s killing was believed to have been related to his work.

Former Nueva Ecija journalist slain and robbed
TWO MEN on a motorcycle killed and robbed a former radio and newspaper reporter last Dec. 7 in his farm in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.
Ponciano Grande, who had worked for The Recorder and The Nueva Ecija Times, died from five bullet wounds fired from a .45-caliber pistol. Annie Liwag, Grande’s common-law partner who hosts a radio program in dwJJ, said the gunmen were in their late teens.
Liwag said the assailants took P174,000 from Grande. The money was supposed to pay for expenses in the farm.
Grande used to write for the two community papers and served as assistant information writer for dwNE until 2000 when he and Liwag decided to work full-time their farm. Grande was also a board director of the Nueva Ecija Press Club from 1992 to 1993.

Pampanga reporter arrested for libel
A REPORTER facing libel charges in Pampanga was arrested last Dec. 19.
Dante Fabian, a senior reporter for Sun.Star Pampanga, was arrested in Pulung village in Maragul district, Angeles City, Pampanga, on a libel complaint filed by Pampanga Rep. Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno on Aug. 3, 2006. Fabian immediately posted bail on the day of his arrest after his colleagues in the Pampanga Press Club raised the P30,000 bail needed.
Fabian, a news reporter for Sun.Star since 1995, posted bail at the office of Judge Bernardita Gabitan Erum of Regional Trial Court Branch 61.
Nepomuceno sued Fabian over three stories on allegedly missing P19-million worth of water pipes and hand pumps purchased through the Congres-sional Priority Development Assistance Fund, more com-monly known as the pork barrel fund, of Nepomuceno who repre-sents  Pampanga’s first district.
Nepomuceno described Fabian’s articles as a form of “malicious reporting.”
Fabian, however, insisted that he was just doing his job.
“I don’t have any reason or personal motive to go against him (Nepomuceno). I just report what I see,” Fabian said.
Nepomuceno, in a report by GMA-7, denied the article’s allegations and said that the pipes had all been accounted for and were already being distributed.
Fabian will be arraigned on Jan. 25.

Media lawyer, family get death threats
THE LAWYER handling the class action suit of Filipino journalists against presidential spouse Jose Miguel Arroyo received several threatening text messages and a phone call last Jan. 3.
Lawyer Harry Roque received a phone call at about 10 a.m . from a certain “Jun Santos” warning him to stop “lawyering for destabilizers.” The caller identified himself as a supporter of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and a member of KAMPI, the political party founded by the president.
Roque later received three text messages threatening to kill him and his family.  One offered a P5-million bounty on the lawyer’s head.
The first text message, which came at about 1 p.m., said “Atty. Roque, RIP (Rest in Peace), we from the Hukbong Bayan (Army of the Country) are continually watching you and your moves of betrayal to the nation. We are again warning you to shut your fishy mouth.”
A second message followed which again threatened Roque and his family.
“Dura lex, sed lex. Our law may be harsh but it is still our law. Not all the time you are lucky. Your end is near and your family.”
The third and last message said, “To all interested persons: we are giving away P5 million/$105,000 as a reward for the capture of Harry Roque, dead or alive. Atty. Roque is a lawyer of terrorist communist group in the Phils. A destabilizer, insurgent, an anti-American. Caution: he is armed & dangerous. Any info on his whereabouts, pls call or text 09152546579.”
The number turned out to be that of a mobile phone owned by the Public Affairs department of the Philippine Army, which denied involvement with or knowledge of the death threats against Roque.
Roque is also part of the legal team helping rape complainant “Nicole.”
“Nicole” was raped by US Marine Daniel Smith on Nov. 1, 2005. Sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment by a Philippine court, Smith has been transferred to the custody of the US Embassy in Manila by the Arroyo government. “Nicole” is protesting the transfer.

Newsbreak staff posts bail for Arroyo libel charge
FIVE JOURNALISTS posted bail at the Regional Trial Court of the Manila City Hall last Dec. 14 following the approval of the filing in court of libel charges against them by the husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The journalists were sued in connection with an article that appeared in Newsbreak magazine on Dec. 3, 2003. Editor-in-chief Marites Danguilan Vitug, managing editor Glenda Gloria, editorial consultant Jose Dalisay, former business editor Ricky Carandang, and former contri-buting editor Booma Cruz each posted a bail of P10,000 to preempt the arrest warrant that was expected to be issued soon.
The resolution, written by an assistant city prosecutor of Manila, stated that the accused journalists “meant and intended to convey false and malicious insinuations” against Jose Miguel Arroyo, the president’s spouse. It said that the story was “highly libelous and offensive and derogatory to the good name, character and reputation… of the First Gentleman.”
The article, titled “More Properties?” was a report on Arroyo’s allegedly undeclared properties in San Francisco,  California in the United States. It follows up an earlier report made by Newsbreak on the same topic published on Nov. 10, 2003, “San Francisco: The Arroyos’ Favorite City.”
Newsbreak denied that the story was malicious.
In a statement, Vitug said, “The article was very transparent; we said that these were leads and that we pursued them and stated our findings. Our cover story on the Arroyos’ undeclared properties in San Francisco provides proper context to this follow-up article.”

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