INVITATION FOR COVERAGE: April 27 press conference of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ)

The Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) will hold a press conference on the culture of impunity and the killing of journalists during the Philippine Press Institute’s 13th National Press Forum on April 27 (Monday), 11:30 a.m., at the Diamond Hotel in Manila. This is in celebration of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Below is a statement of the FFFJ on the culture of impunity and the killing of journalists in the Philippines.

For information, please contact Melanie or Edsel of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) at the following numbers: (+632) 840-0903 / (+632) 894-1326 / (+632) 894-1314. CMFR serves as FFFJ’s secretariat.

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A DANGEROUS PLACE

THE KILLING OF and attacks on journalists in the Philippines continue, with one journalist killed in the line of duty last February and two more wounded in apparent assassination attempts. A culture of impunity persists since 1986, only two out of the 40 cases since 2001 have been resolved, but only partially. Only the assassins or hired killers in two cases have been convicted, but the masterminds are still free.

Dismantling impunity requires the punishment of both killers and masterminds. The Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) has been a leading response to this continuing peril. It has provided assistance to the survivors of slain journalists as well as witnesses for the prosecution of the killers, engaged the police and justice system to prod them into action, and hired private prosecutors to assist the government prosecutorial service.

FFFJ is a coalition specifically formed in 2003 to address the killings. Its member organizations are the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, which serves as its Secretariat, the Center for Community Journalism and Development, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines), the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the Philippine Press Institute, and the US-based newspaper Philippine News.

FFFJ is redoubling its efforts to bring those responsible for the killings, killer and mastermind, to justice in order to prevent further killings. But successful prosecution calls for the support of the agencies of the state, such as the local and national police, the Department of Justice, and local government officials. FFFJ efforts also need the support of the press community as a whole.

In what could be a turning point in the campaign to punish both the actual triggermen as well as brains behind the killings, Branch 30 of the Tacurong City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has denied a motion by the suspected masterminds in the killing of Sultan Kudarat journalist Marlene Esperat to quash the case against them. The arrest warrants that have been pending because of their motion can now be served, and hopefully would lead to closure in the Esperat murder.

Despite such victories in behalf of press freedom as the conviction of the killers of Edgar Damalerio and Marlene Esperat in November 2005 and October 2006 respectively, and the April 2009 decision of the Tacurong City RTC, FFFJ needs the support and collaboration of the entire Philippine press community with continuing reports on the progress of or setbacks to prosecution of cases. Continuing coverage can help focus public attention on aspects of impunity that affects the entire justice system. Press reports can pressure government agencies to undertake vigorous and relentless action to bring killers to justice. The press should focus on underfunded and understaffed Witness Protection Program, for example, and closely monitor what the police and the prosecutorial service are doing or perhaps, failing to do in the investigation of the killings and the prosecution of killers. To update the Philippine press community as well as the public at large on the state of the cases against the killers of journalists and the masterminds behind them, FFFJ is holding a media briefing on April 27 as part of the Philippine Press Institute 13th Press Forum at the Diamond Hotel in Manila. FFFJ representatives will discuss the state of the cases as well as other steps that need to be taken to stop the killings.

All media organizations, journalists’ groups and free expression formations as well as those groups and individuals committed to the defense of press freedom and free expression as vital to democracy and good governance are invited to attend the briefing. Your attendance and support will help send a strong signal to the killers and would-be killers of journalists that the press and human rights community will do all it can to stop an outrage that has been going on for over a decade and which has already earned for the Philippines a reputation as one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism.

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