Category: Maguindanao massacre

‘Impunity biggest cause of violence vs journalists’

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

Text by Cong B. Corrales
Interview by Malou Mangahas

EACH UNRESOLVED CASE of violence against journalists is an open invitation for even more violence.

This was the message – and the reminder – of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Frank La Rue to the Philippines on the 4th anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre, where 58 people including 32 mediamen were murdered in November 2009.

La Rue was interviewed by PCIJ Executive Director Malou Mangahas during the Asia Regional Consultation on Freedom of Expression and Civil Liberties in Bangkok last week.

La Rue also expressed his solidarity with Filipino journalists in the fight to end the culture of impunity in the country.

La Rue–who was in Manila for the first anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre–pointed out the importance of remembering the grisly incident on November 23, four years ago, as a stark example of how impunity threatens the very fabric of democratic ideals.

“I have always been shocked that this is the biggest massacre of journalists–the biggest collective death of journalists in the world–in the history of journalism,” he said.

“I think it is very important to remember this incident to make this a message of eradication of impunity,” La Rue added.

Below is the full transcription of La Rue’s special message:

My name is Frank La Rue and I’m the UN special rapporteur for the freedom of expression around the world. (And) I want to take this opportunity to send a very special message to the people of the Philippines.

First of all, because of the typhoon that affected the Philippines my solidarity and my prayers are with the people of the Philippines at this moment to overcome this huge tragedy, who moved us all in the world.

And secondly, because this is the anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, I was in Manila for the first anniversary and as special rapporteur on freedom of expression, I have always been shocked that this is the biggest massacre of journalists–the biggest collective death of journalists in the world–in the history of journalism.

(And) I think it is very important to remember this incident to make this a message of eradication of impunity. Every time that an act of violence against a journalist remains without investigation, without justice, is the invitation–not for one other act but–for many more to occur.

For me, analyzing violence against journalism, the biggest cause of violence in the world against journalists is impunity. We have to eradicate impunity and I hope Philippines becomes an example of this.

The best for you all.

‘Impunity biggest cause of violence vs journalists’

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

EACH UNRESOLVED CASE of violence against journalists is an open invitation for even more violence.

This was the message – and the reminder – of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Frank La Rue to the Philippines on the 4th anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre, where 58 people including 32 mediamen were murdered in November 2009.

La Rue was interviewed during the Asia Regional Consultation on Freedom of Expression and Civil Liberties in Bangkok last week.

La Rue also expressed his solidarity with Filipino journalists in the fight to end the culture of impunity in the country.

La Rue–who was in Manila for the first anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre–pointed out the importance of remembering the grisly incident on November 23, four years ago, as a stark example of how impunity threatens the very fabric of democratic ideals.

“I have always been shocked that this is the biggest massacre of journalists–the biggest collective death of journalists in the world–in the history of journalism,” he said.

“I think it is very important to remember this incident to make this a message of eradication of impunity,” La Rue added.

Below is the full transcription of La Rue’s special message:

My name is Frank La Rue and I’m the UN special rapporteur for the freedom of expression around the world. (And) I want to take this opportunity to send a very special message to the people of the Philippines.

First of all, because of the typhoon that affected the Philippines my solidarity and my prayers are with the people of the Philippines at this moment to overcome this huge tragedy, who moved us all in the world.

And secondly, because this is the anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, I was in Manila for the first anniversary and as special rapporteur on freedom of expression, I have always been shocked that this is the biggest massacre of journalists–the biggest collective death of journalists in the world–in the history of journalism.

(And) I think it is very important to remember this incident to make this a message of eradication of impunity. Every time that an act of violence against a journalist remains without investigation, without justice, is the invitation–not for one other act but–for many more to occur.

For me, analyzing violence against journalism, the biggest cause of violence in the world against journalists is impunity. We have to eradicate impunity and I hope Philippines becomes an example of this.

The best for you all.

FFFJ to Coloma: Media murders are about impunity, role of State

mcmangahas Leave a comment

WHAT follows is the full statement of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) on comments made by Communications Secretary Herminio ‘Sonny’ Coloma that under the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III, there is no culture of impunity that lingers in the Philippines.

The FFFJ is composed of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), the Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD), and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

CMFR is the secretariat of the FFFJ.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

IS THERE “no more culture of impunity” as Secretary Herminio ‘Sonny’ Coloma of the Presidential Communication Operations Office argued during a press conference last November 22, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan Massacre?

Secretary Coloma was reacting to allegations that the Aquino administration has pulled ahead of past administrations because of the number of journalists killed — 19, or an average of six per year — during the first three years of its watch. He bases this argument on another argument: that the number of journalists and media workers killed during the first three years of President Benigno Aquino III, from 2010 to 2013, which, as documented by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), currently stands at 19, is inflated because “a driver of a network, employees of ‘fly-by-night’ newspapers, and a blocktimer selling skin whiteners” are included in the count.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility includes media workers, such as drivers and grips, because of the indispensable support these give to journalists. They perform services required by journalists to do their work. CMFR also includes blocktimers and those working in tabloids who may be sponsored by political and commercial interests, because whatever the quality of their work, they remain part of the free media community, exercising a crucial role in a democracy and equally protected by the Constitution.

When they’re killed in the course of their work or for their work, it has an impact on the state of the press and media because the killings serve as a deterrent against other journalists’ doing their jobs without fear. The CMFR list does not look into the compliance of practitioners with ethical and professional standards, that being a separate issue altogether from the fundamental one: that no one who does journalistic work or who supports the work of journalists deserves to be killed, and their killing has a chilling effect on the way the press and the media provide the information and analysis citizens need. CMFR and other advocate groups believe that their killers must be punished.

CMFR looks very closely into every report, whether from the news media or from its own network, on the killing of a journalist or media worker. CMFR alerts, and threats officers call the Philippine National Police and local journalists, to confirm if indeed the killing took place. If it did, CMFR interviews the local police for the details of the killing, and the colleague of the slain to establish if the victim was indeed regarded by the local press and media community as a journalist; what he was working on; his history in the profession; whether he has received any death or other threats; and if the opinion of the press community his killing was work related. CMFR also contacts the family to verify if the slain was indeed working as a journalist and if he had mentioned any threats to his life, and from whom the slain thought they were coming from. CMFR then contacts whoever, if at all, the slain had told his family was threatening him to get his side.

CMFR, which also serves as the Secretariat for the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), continues to validate its early findings by verifying them with other sources. Only when there is a high probability that the motive for the killing was work related is the name of the slain included in the CMFR database and a report on it released to the CMFR national and international networks, and if approved by its member organizations, to FFFJ networks as well. CMFR is aware that a journalist or media worker could be killed for other than work-related reasons, such as a private dispute or a love triangle, and has excluded thirteen (13) non-work related killings from its list of journalists killed during the Aquino administration, whose three-year record would otherwise total 32.

As far as the number of journalists killed during the first three years of the Aquino government (19) is concerned, only the gunman in the January 2011 killing of Palawan broadcaster and environmental advocate Gerry Ortega has been convicted.

Meanwhile, in 2013 alone, 66 threats, whimsical and politically-motivated libel suits, illegal arrests, physical assaults, being barred from covering events of public concern, and other harassments have been recorded, with no one being held to account for them.

Impunity is the name for the fact that only one gunman and no mastermind has been tried or even arrested in 18 out of the 19 killings of journalists from 2010 to 2013, and for the continuing harassments many journalists have to contend with in the course of their work.

FFFJ holds that the primary reason why the killings and harassments are continuing today is the slow progress of the Ampatuan Massacre trial, which is still hearing petitions for bail three years after it began, while 89 out of the 194 accused of masterminding and carrying out the Massacre are still at large.

But whatever the numbers — whether the driver of a TV network should be excluded from the list of 32 journalists and media workers killed during the Ampatuan Massacre or not — what is at issue is State responsibility for the safety of all its constituencies including journalists and media workers.

This has always been FFFJ’s stand, which is shared by CMFR and the other members of the FFFJ. That is why it continues to ask for government action. It is also the international standard, as United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Frank La Rue has reminded media and media advocacy groups, by which to determine the persistence of the culture of impunity in the Philippines and in other countries.

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SIGNATORIES:
Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists:
Center for Community Journalism and Development
Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility
Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Philippine Press Institute

Journalists hit Coloma over media murders statement

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

ON THE EVE OF THE 4th anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre, Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr. downplayed statistics from media groups that showed that media killings had grown worse during the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino Jr.

In a briefing for Malacanang reporters, Coloma said that some of those included in the lists compiled by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) were not bona fide mediamen.

In fact, Coloma was quoted as saying that if one were to exclude the 32 victims of the Maguindanao Massacre from the count, the Philippines was not that bad in terms of media killings.

Read the Philippine Star report on Coloma’s statement here.

For his remarks, Coloma has earned the ire of the NUJP and other members of the media.

In a statement released Monday, the NUJP said that Coloma’s statement makes it clear just how much importance the Aquino administration gives to justice and human rights – “zilch.”

“Now,through Sec. Sonny Coloma, we have a very clear idea of how much press freedom and justice mean to this administration – zilch,” the NUJP statement said.

“Going by Coloma’s twisted logic, 157 murders less the 32 victims of the massacre give us 125, a trivial figure. It could be that where extrajudicial killing has claimed the lives of hundreds of activists, environmentalists, human rights defenders, indigenous people, lawyers, clerics, religious and many others whose only crime was to speak their minds, their deaths unsolved and those responsible unpunished.”

The NUJP then listed the names of all the 157 victims of media murders, and suggested that Coloma “get in touch with the families of the following, less the Ampatuan 32, and advice them not to fret too much, that their loss and grief are nothing serious.”

Several journalists also took exception to Coloma’s statement and vented their ire in social media.

In a report released by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on Thursday, the PCIJ found that media killings in the first 40 months under Aquino had already outpaced the number of media killings for the same period under his predecessor, then President Gloria Arroyo.

Together, the NUJP and CMFR have identified 23 media men killed in the line of duty since President Aquino took office in 2010. In contrast, only 12 mediamen were killed in the first 40 months of President Arroyo.

In interviews done for the PCIJ story, CMFR Deputy Director Luis Teodoro and NUJP chairperson Rowena Paraan said that both groups have screened out other possible motives for the murders. Otherwise, they said, the numbers would be much higher.

Paraan said her group investigates each murder case. If there is no indication of any motive other than one that is job-related, then the NUJP classifies the killing as a work-related incident.

Teodoro said that authorities may be sticking to a definition that is too narrow.

“Whether you call it EJK (extra judicial killing) or media killing, ang punto is may pinapatay, at ang pagpatay ay nagpapatuloy,” Paraan said. “I consider it media killing pag walang pruweba na he was killed otherwise, kung pinatay at walang malinaw na categorization to identify bakit pinatay siya.”

On the other hand, Paraan said that authorities seemed inclined to automatically ascribe other motives to the murder every time a media person is killed. “Ang knee-jerk statement nila is (to say that the motive is a) love triangle, or nakipagaway sa kapitbahay, o personal na away,” Paraan said. Sometimes, Paraan said, police announce this hasty conclusion even before the end of the day.

Interestingly, Coloma said that the number of media victims would not be alarming if one does not consider the 32 murders that were the result of the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre.

In its story on the media murders under President Aquino, the PCIJ pointed out that if one were to exclude the media murder victims from the list, the average number of killings per year under President Aquino would be bigger than those under President Arroyo.

Without the Maguindanao Massacre, the average number of media killings under Arroyo would only be five a year, compared to more than six under President Aquino. Analysts sometimes exclude the Maguindanao Massacre from the computation of the average because the massacre was considered sui generis, or a very unique and extreme case that skew the average.

Prosecution wraps up in Maguindanao Massacre case

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

ON THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY of the Maguindanao Massacre, government prosecutors say they have already presented to the court all the evidence they need to convict former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons for the Maguindanao Massacre.

One hundred ninety seven people, including members of the influential Ampatuan clan and the members of their militia, are facing charges for 58 counts of murder for the deaths of 58 people on November 23, 2009, in what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre.

Today, November 23, marks the 4th anniversary since the massacre occurred on a remote hillside in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province.

In a meeting with journalists and media groups last week, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III and state prosecutors involved in the case briefed the newsmen on the progress in the case.

Baraan said that they were confident that the evidence that the prosecution has presented would be more than enough to secure the conviction of Andal Sr., his sons Andal Jr. and Zaldy, and five other Ampatuan clan members.

“The evidence of guilt is enough to convict the principal suspects,” Baraan said.

Trial began in early 2010, with prosecutors presenting 148 witnesses before the court. A key witness included Lakmudin Saliao, a former house help of the Ampatuan family who told the court that he witnessed the clan members planning the murder of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu when he files his certificate of candidacy for the post of governor of Maguindanao.

In his testimony, Saliao said patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. asked his sons how they could stop Mangudadatu from filing his candidacy. Saliao said it was Andal Jr. who proposed that Mangudadatu be killed before he files his candidacy. The clan then proceeded to plan how to waylay Mangudadatu’s convoy, Saliao said.

Baraan said the prosecution has already made its formal offer of evidence to Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes. This means that the prosecution has told the judge that it has presented all its evidence, and that it is the turn of the defense to present its case.

Technically, the Maguindanao trial is still in the bail hearings phase, but both the prosecution and defense had earlier agreed to adopt all the evidence and witnesses presented in the bail hearings for the trial proper. This is so that the same evidence does not have to be presented again later on.

Baraan said prosecutors had presented more than 80 percent of their case before the court. Additional evidence will only be presented by prosecutors depending on how the Ampatuan lawyers mount their defense.

“We will not have to call the witnesses who have been presented during the bail hearings,” said Baraan.

With the prosecution ready to rest its case, Baraan said the trial was more than halfway through, almost four years after the first hearing was held in 2010.

Of the 197 accused, only 106 are now now in government custody. Curiously, however, Baraan said he hoped that authorities do not make any more arrests in the immediate future, as this would only further delay the trial.

Baraan said that every time another wanted person is caught by authorities, prosecutors “start all over again” in presenting all the pieces of evidence and the witnesses before the court.

Watch the dialogue with Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III below, as edited by PCIJ Deputy Producer Cong B. Corrales.