Journalists in Sorsogon expressed dismay and disbelief over police claims it was the New People’s Army (NPA) that killed a former radio reporter on September 14 last year.
In a statement, the Sorsogon media condemned allegations made by Sorsogon City police chief Lt. Col. Benito Dipad and Sorsogon provincial police head Col. Arturo Brual that two NPA members killed broadcaster Jobert Bercasio.
The journalists said the police press conference last January 21 failed to merit praises and jubilation from the victim’s family and friends as it lacked credibility and plausibility and was even comical.
“That the police relied on a ‘walk-in’ witness who was not even sure of his role in the conspiracy should be a cause for concern on the credibility of the case,” the statement said.
The journalists expressed further incredulity when Dipad said the victim may have been suspected by the NPA as a government informer.
“Obviously, the police have failed, again, to check, despite its constant stalking, that as early as September 20 of last year, the regional spokesperson of the National Democratic Front-Bicol, Maria Roja Banua, had already made a statement that refutes such theory,” the journalists said.
The reporters revealed that the NPA had been a convenient escape for the PNP to attribute crimes to the NPA whenever they fail to solve them.
“[W]hen police attribute(s) a crime to the NPAs, it’s tantamount to saying they could not solve the case. It’s a subtle admission of utter failure,” they added.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said it shares the dismay and incredulity of its Sorsogon colleagues.
“We commend our Sorsogon colleagues and are one with them in insisting that the investigation into Jobert Bercasio’s murder be credible because what he deserves – as do all of our fallen colleagues – is justice, not made into a pawn for anyone’s agenda or the subject of cheap propaganda,” the NUJP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) bewailed the lack of justice for the killing of a broadcaster in Palawan exactly a decade ago.
In a statement, the media group urged the Court of Appeals to conduct proceedings to prosecute the accused in the killing of journalist, environmentalist and good governance advocate Gerardo “Doc Gerry” Ortega on January 24, 2011.
Ortega was shot dead by a gunman at a thrift store he visited after hosting his program “Ramatak” on the Puerto Princesa City radio station dwAR-FM.
He was the first journalist killed under the Benigno Aquino presidency.
The gunman was almost immediately caught, followed quickly by other members of the hit team, all of whom named those who allegedly ordered the hit – former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother Mario, then the Coron mayor, as well as other accomplices.
Most of the accused have since been convicted, except the Reyes brothers who fled the country in March 2012.
They were arrested in Thailand in September 2015 and deported back to the Philippines.
Joel Reyes was ordered freed by the Court of Appeals on January 2018 but he was rearrested and jailed in Camp Bagong Diwa after his conviction for graft by the Sandiganbayan.
In November 2019 the appellate court reversed its January 2018 decision and ordered the resumption of the Ortega murder trial.
The NUJP noted that trials for the murder of journalists are unusually long in the Philippines, itself a form of injustice to the victims and their families.
“[I]t took a decade for a verdict to be handed down on those accused of carrying out the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan massacre, which claimed the lives of 58 persons, 32 of them journalists. And even then, the legal process is far from over with appeals filed and scores of other suspects still at large,” the group said.
The NUJP said the families endure the protracted process and the dangers of harassments and threats from the masterminds.
“It is a testament to their courage that neither the families of the massacre victims nor of Doc Gerry have wavered in their search for justice, despite the many dangers and obstacles placed in their way,” the NUJP said.
“[B]y any standards, a decade without justice is clearly justice too long denied for Doc Gerry, his wife Patty, and their children. We urge the trial court to take to heart the CA’s order to conduct proceedings in criminal case No. 26839 with purposeful dispatch,” the group added.
In a Facebook post, Ortega’s son Joaquin Philippe said their family has already learned to live without their father but the late broadcaster and his battle against corruption and greed are still remembered.
“That battle is far from over. I don’t believe justice is a myth, but I believe our society’s current systems need to change,” the young Ortega wrote. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://i1.wp.com/kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/0-2.jpg?fit=909%2C409&ssl=1409909Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-01-25 15:07:192021-01-25 15:07:53NUJP: Where is justice in Doc Gerry’s killing?
MANILA — A journalist was shot and killed by government soldiers in Milagros, Masbate, last Saturday, November 14.
Ronnie Villamor, 50, a stringer for local tabloid Dos Kantos Balita was killed by troops led by a certain 2nd Lieutenant Maydim Jomadil after covering an aborted survey of a disputed property.
Villamor was also a pastor of the Life in Christ Church.
A spot report on the incident by Milagros police chief Major Aldrin Rosales quoted army troops as saying they were investigating the presence of five armed men in Barangat Matanglad who fled at their approach.
The army and the police said Villamor was a New People’s Army (NPA) member who allegedly drew a firearm when ordered to stop his motorcycle at a Scout Platoon-2nd Infantry Battalion Philippine Army checkpoint.
The victim’s colleagues however disputed the soldiers’ version of the incident, saying there was no encounter between the government soldiers and the NPA.
Masbate Tri-Media President Dadong Briones Sr. told Dos Kantos Balita the victim just came from a coverage of an aborted survey of a piece of land being disputed by certain Dimen family and businessman Randy Favis.
Favis’s goons reportedly prevented the survey from proceeding, prompting the surveyors to return to mainland Bicol and the victim to proceed to his brother Arthur’s house at Barangay Bonbon.
Dos Kantos Balita reported that witnesses saw army troopers flagging down the victim and, after being identified by Favis’s men Johnrey Floresta and Eric Desilva, shot Villamor dead.
In a statement, the Masbate chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killing of their colleague and demands a thorough investigation of the incident.
“The killing of our colleague…at the hands of government soldiers sends a chilling message to us journalists not only here in Masbate but all throughout the country,” the victims’ colleagues said.
Villamor is the fourth journalist murdered in Masbate after Joaquin Briones (March 13, 2017), Antonio Castillo (June 12, 2009), and Nelson Nedura (December 2, 2003), the NUJP said.
“He (Villamor) is the 19th slain during the Duterte administration and the 191st since 1986. He was also the second killed this month, only four days after NUJP member Virgilio Maganes, who had survived an attempt on his life in 2016, was shot dead outside his home in Villasis town, Pangasinan,” the group added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://i2.wp.com/kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1-8.jpg?fit=1100%2C779&ssl=17791100Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-11-18 08:40:352020-11-19 08:21:15Philippine Army soldiers kill journalist in Masbate
A journalist who survived an assassination attempt in November 2016 was shot dead at his home in Villasis, Pangasinan this morning, November 10.
Virgilio “Vir” Maganes, a reporter of local newspaper Northern Watch and commentator of local radio station DWPR, was shot at 6:30 AM in front of his residence at Sitio Licsab, Barangay San Blas.
A police spot report said Maganes was about to enter their residential compound when the killers fired at him six times, killing him immediately.
Maganes was hit on the head and other parts of the body.
In 2016, Maganes survived a gun attack while on board a tricycle and was wounded on his torso.
He played dead as the tricycle careened on the side of the road but saw his assailant put a hand-written placard near him accusing him of being a drug personality.
The placard read: “Drug pusher huwag pamarisan”, in what the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said may be seen as an attempt to divert attention from the real motive for the slay try.
Maganes denied ever being involved in illegal drugs.
The victim was a known critic of local politicians he accused in his reports and radio programs of being illegal gambling operators.
In its alert, the NUJP said Maganes would be the 18th journalist murdered during the Rodrigo Duterte administration and the 190th since 1986.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security told Kodao that it has dispatched investigators to Pangasinan to look into Maganes’ killing.
The victim turned 62 years old last November 7. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) renewed
its call for justice for broadcaster Gerry Ortega in Puerto Princesa City,
Palawan on the ninth anniversary of his killing.
In a statement, the NUJP said it calls on the courts to
resume trials against alleged masterminds in Ortega’s murders after the Court
of Appeals (CA) reversed a 2018 ruling clearing former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, the primary suspect.
The group said
the CA ordered the Regional Trial Court in
Puerto Princesa to “issue a warrant of arrest against the petitioner (Reyes)
and to conduct proceedings in criminal case No. 26839 with purposeful dispatch”
last November.
“Today, as we remember Doc Gerry,
we call on the courts to let the wheels of justice finally turn, but not turn slowly,”
the group said.
Hopes that the alleged brains
behind Ortega’s murder would be held accountable had been dashed when co-accused
former Coron, Palawan mayor Mario Reyes was granted bail in 2016 and his
brother Joel was cleared of the murder charge and freed by the Court of Appeals
in January 2018.
The former governor was back
behind bars however after he was convicted of graft by the Sandiganbayan three
weeks later.
The NUJP expressed optimism in a conviction as the gunman and all the members of
the hit team were arrested, prosecuted, and convicted.
“In a rare instance, the hired
killers named the alleged masterminds, who fled the country in 2012 soon after
arrest warrants were issued against them but were captured in Thailand three
years after and brought back to stand trial,” the NUJP said.
Ortega—also an environmentalist,
public servant, good governance advocate and civic leader—had just finished hosting his program on radio station
DWAR when shot dead.
The NUJP also noted that the
victim’s family never wavered in their struggle for justice, adding it can do
no less.
The NUJP is set to light candles
for Ortega at the Sgt. Esguerra gate of ABS-CBN tonight, January 24, as it also
calls for the renewal of the media company’s legislative franchise President
Rodrigo Duterte threatened to block at the House of Representatives. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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ON DECEMBER 19, the day set by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 for the promulgation of its much-awaited verdict on the Ampatuan massacre, it will be 10 years and 25 days since the killings occurred in Maguindanao on November 23, 2009.
Let that sink in: a decade of injustice. Ten years since 58 men and women, of whom 32 were journalists and media workers, were brutally killed in the worst election-related violence in the Philippines and the worst attack on journalists in history. These are millions of moments when swift decisive justice could have been served on the alleged perpetrators of the crime and its masterminds.
On December 19, the Filipino public expects nothing less than a conviction from Quezon City RTC Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes. But the Ampatuan case is one more indication of the fact that in the Philippines, a verdict in the lower courts even on a patently heinous crime will take at least a decade. It proves that impunity thrives for the powerful, while for the victims of crimes such as the Ampatuan massacre, a decade can pass without attaining justice.
A decade has indeed passed but the conditions that led to the Ampatuan massacre remain: political dynasties and patronage are still alive, paramilitary groups have not been dismantled, and the Ampatuans’ collusion with the administration — Arroyo then and Duterte now — still persists.
But in this climate when attacks against free expression and the press escalate relentlessly – from the killings of journalists to illegal arrests to online attacks – we should remain undaunted. Despite the stark lesson on how elusive justice is from the Ampatuan massacre case, journalists, activists, and advocates must not only soldier on, but also up the ante in the fight to shatter the culture of impunity that has enveloped the nation.
A conviction of the Ampatuans would be considered an initial victory against impunity. An acquittal, on the other hand, would spell death to press freedom.
December 19 will not only underscore how elusive justice is in our country. It should also be a time for all of us to renew our commitment to continue fighting for it no matter the cost, and no matter how long.
On December 19, let us express our solidarity with the families of the Ampatuan massacre victims and register our resounding call: Justice for the 58 massacre victims. End Impunity. Convict the Ampatuans.
* Pooled editorial of the members of the AlterMidya Network, a national organization of independent media outfits in the Philippines.
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Red-tagging, intimidation vs. press: Du30, state agents behind 69 cases
By The
Freedom for Media, Freedom for All Network*
A network composed of the
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), National Union of
Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), MindaNews, Philippine Press
Institute (PPI), and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ)
THE STATE
OF MEDIA FREEDOM in the Philippines under the Duterte Administration remains a
tragic story as new and more cases of attacks and threats continue, with marked
uptick for certain incidents.
The
situation highlights the unyielding reign of impunity, and the shrinking
democratic space in the country, even as the nation awaits next week, on Dec.
19, 2019, the promulgation of judgment on the Ampatuan Massacre case of Nov.
23, 2009 that claimed the lives of 58 persons, including 32 journalists and
media workers.
After
over nine years of trial, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, presiding judge of Branch
221 of the regional trial court of Quezon City, will decide on the case that
has been described as the “deadliest strike against the press in history.”
From June
30, 2016 to Dec. 5, 2019, or in the last 41 months, 154 incidents of attacks
and threats against the news media had been documented jointly by the Center
for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the National Union of
Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
The 154
cases include 15 journalists who had been killed under the Duterte
Administration even as cases of intimidation and online harassment registered
the highest numbers, by category of incidents.
The most
worrisome numbers are 28 incidents of intimidation, 20 online harassment, 12
threats via text messages, 12 libel cases, 10 website attacks, eight slay
attempts, and eight cases of journalists barred from coverage.
Sixty
cases of attacks were made against online media — the highest by media
platform — apart from 41 cases against radio networks, 33 against print media
agencies, and 15 cases against television networks.
Of the
154 cases, at least 69 had linked state agents — public officials from the
Executive and Legislative branches, uniformed personnel, and Cabinet appointees
of President Duterte – as known or alleged perpetrators. Of these 69 state
agents, about half or 27 are from national government agencies.
Luzon
island logged the biggest number of cases at 99, including 69 in Metro Manila
alone. Mindanao logged 37 cases, and the Visayas, 18.
In the
last six months, however, the most disconcerting and fastest rising numbers of
attacks and threats include:
Multiple instances of public
broadsides and attacks by President Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary
Teodoro Locsin Jr. against certain journalists and media agencies, and
threats by the President to personally see after the denial of franchise
renewal for a television network. “Ayan. Nationwide man ‘yan.
Ikaw, ABS-CBN, you’re a mouthpiece of… Ang inyong franchise,
mag-end next year. If you are expecting na ma-renew ‘yan,
I’m sorry. You’re out. I will see to it that you’re out,” the President
warned ABS-CBN network;
Red-tagging of journalists
and media organizations as alleged fronts of leftist and communist groups
by officers of the Armed Forces, Philippine National Police, Philippine
Communications Operations Office, and other state agents;
Workshops conducted by the
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) in the regions compelling
journalists to sign off to a “Manifesto of Commitment” to “wholeheartedly
support” the Administration’s “Whole-Of-Nation Approach In Attaining
Inclusive And Sustainable Peace, Creating A National Task Force To End
Local Communist Armed Conflict, And Directing The Adoption Of A National
Peace Framework,” as mandated by Executive Order No. 70 that Duterte
issued in December 2018; and
A case of mistaken arrest of
a journalist had also happened. In June 2019, Fidelina Margarita
Avellanosa-Valle, Davao Today columnist, was arrested at the
Laguindingan airport allegedly based on a warrant of arrest for murder and
other alleged cases. She was brought to Pagadian, held incommunicado for
hours, and later released in the evening with just an apology from the
Philippine National Police or PNP.
RED-TAGGING
More
cases of red-tagging or red-baiting of journalists by police or military
officers or their intelligence assets and allies have been reported.
· On Nov.
4, 2019, in an interview with the anchors of “The Chiefs” program of TV5,
Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, undersecretary for New Media and External Affairs,
tagged the National Union of Journalists and other media personnel as so-called
fronts of Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army. “Are they or
are they not part of the CPP-NPA? They are,” Badoy said. Asked if she was
saying that these groups are fronting or are part of terrorist organizations,
Badoy replied, “Unequivocally. Yes.” Badoy added, “I just don’t want a
reporting. I want a clear and unequivocal denunciation of the human rights
violations of the CPP-NPA.”
In a
statement, NUJP said that Badoy clearly painted the NUJP as enemies of the
state. “This is essentially an open call for state forces to threaten, harass,
arrest, detain and kill journalists for doing their job,” NUJP said.
“Clearly,”
added NUJP, “the intent of this red-tagging spree and all other assaults on
press freedom is to intimidate the independent media into abandoning their
critical stance as watchdogs and become mouthpieces of government.”
· On
Sept. 17, 2019, at a public forum at the Don Honorio Ventura State University
in Bacolor, Pampanga, Rolando Asuncion, regional director of the National
Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) claimed Pampanga TV manager Sonia Soto
was among 31 identified media personalities in the NICA’s list of alleged rebels.
“Sa CLTV36, kilala niyo ba yun? Si Sonia Soto, ‘yong maganda?
Iyon.(Do you know Sonia Soto? The pretty one in CLTV36?)”
A report
by SunStar said that in a Facebook post, Soto denied the accusation in
no uncertain terms. “I cannot accept this label or tag because I am neither a
communist nor a terrorist,” the report quoted Soto as saying. “I am a
professional TV station manager and a Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas
(KBP)-licensed TV broadcaster. I have never allowed CLTV36 or any of its shows to
be a mouthpiece for anyone advocating terrorism or to raise arms against
government in the course of my work as a broadcaster and general manager of
CLTV36.”
“As a
matter of fact,” Soto added, “like all TV stations, we use a standard
disclaimer to caution the viewers should anyone among the guests in a TV show
utter words that may be misconstrued as reflective of the Management’s views on
a specific topic being discussed. Please know that I am concerned for my
safety.”
Soto, a
student leader at the Lyceum of the Philippines, was a signatory to a 1982
agreement between the League of Filipino Students and the Ministry of National
Defense that bars state security forces from entering state universities.
The
incident allegedly happened during a “Situational Awareness and Knowledge
Management” briefing, which Asuncion described as “pursuant to the mandate of
NICA in implementing Executive Order 70 calling for the creation of a National
Task Force specifically in the adoption of a National Peace Framework to end the
local communist armed conflict,” according to those who were invited to the
event.
On
multiple occasions, various state agents and pro-Duterte groups have tagged
independent and critical journalists and media agencies as supposed fronts or
supporters of the leftist and communist groups, via social-media posts and in
press statements.
Those who
had been targeted include journalists from Mindanao Gold Star Daily,
MindaNews, Visayan Daily Star, Davao Today, radyo Natin Gumaca, the PNP
Press Corps, Rappler, Vera Files, the NUJP chapter members in Cagayan de Oro,
and PCIJ.
COMPELLED
CONSENT
Statements
by military officers and forums conducted by the National Intelligence
Coordinating Agency (NICA) in the regions compel journalists to sign off to a
“Manifesto of Commitment” declaring their “wholehearted support and commitment
to the implementation of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70
to the Regional Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict.”
On Nov. 19, 2019,
journalists in Eastern Visayas were invited to a forum organized by NICA’s
Region 8 Task Force in Tacloban City. “Partnering with the Media in
Winning Peace and development in Eastern Visayas” was the theme of the
forum conducted by the Task Force’s “Strategic Communications Cluster” and
“Situation Awareness and Knowledge Management Center.” Some participants
said that NICA’s invitation for journalists to sign off to the “Manifesto
of Commitment” was practically compelled and demanded. To decline could
have been interpreted as going against the Task Force’s supposed goal of
ending the “communist armed conflict.”
On Dec. 6, 2019 in Butuan
City, Agusan del Sur, the Philippine Information Agency reported the
conduct of another meeting with journalists by the Strategic
Communications Cluster of the Regional Task Force To End Local Communist
Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) with NICA Regional Director Manuel Orduña.
In May 2019, members of the
Defense Press Corps took exception to a letter to editors and social-media
posts by Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Armed Forces of the Philippines deputy
chief of staff for civil-military operations.
The Philippine
Star reported that Parlade had accused reporters of being “biased and of
colluding with communists” when they failed to carry the statement made by
Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, about the writs of amparo and habeas data
that the Supreme Court had granted the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers.
“These
media are allowing their government to be punched and bullied without giving it
an opportunity to air its side, or more appropriately, to express the truth,”
Parlade had said. The reporters “do not want to expose the truth about these
front organizations” of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Parlade added.
The
Defense Press Corps said that not one of its members carried the AFP’s
statement because “it was, to put it bluntly, a rehash of a written statement
he issued three days earlier.” It stressed that DPC is an organization
“indebted to no one—not to the AFP, the Department of National Defense, the
NUPL, the left and other state and non-state actors.”
“It is a
very unfortunate that MGen. Parlade, who is supposed to bridge the gap between
the AFP and the ordinary people as the military’s top civil military operations
officer, is shooting the messenger by falsely and randomly accusing DPC members
of transgression on our core values,” the reporters said, adding that Parlade’s
intention of spreading his letter in social media is questionable.
“To be
accused of bias, merely by not carrying a stale statement, sends a chilling
message to media practitioners to parrot the military line or else, be
discredited,” the Defense Press Corps said. – Freedom for Media, Freedom
for All Network, 10 December 2019
DATA
TABLES:
By the numbers, here are the cases of attacks and threats on media freedom in the Philippines covering the period from June 30, 2016 to Dec. 5, 2019. Some numbers/data may have changed from previous reports after some cases, upon further investigation/consolidation of data, were proven to be not work-related.
INCIDENTS, BY CATEGORY, PLATFORM, GENDER:
INCIDENTS, BY LOCATION:
INCIDENTS, BY ALLEGED PERPETRATOR:
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Groups continue their countdown 10 days before the promulgation of judgement on the decade-long trial on the Ampatuan Massacre on December 19. Groups such as the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Photojournalists Center of the Philippines, Altermidya, College Editors Guild of the Philippines , Justice Now and others are expected to be present when Quezon City Regional Trial Court 221 hands down its verdict. (Video by Jek Alcaraz/Kodao. Background music credits: Haunting Sadness – Scary Background Music For Creepypastas – Mediacharger)
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The Foreign
Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) said the conviction of
all perpetrators, especially the masterminds, is acceptable on the expected
Ampatuan massacre case ruling next month.
In a statement
issued two days before the 10th anniversary of the massacre, the
FOCAP said it renews its call for a closure that will bring justice to the 58
victims, 32 of whom were journalists.
“Convictions of the
perpetrators and full recompense of the victims’ families will be a first step
in reversing the long and tragic injustice,” the group said.
FOCAP said nothing
can justify another delay of even just one more day.
Quezon City Regional
Trial Court Branch 221 presiding judge Jocelyn A. Solis-Reyes has been given until December 10 to submit a copy of her decision to the
Supreme Court and until December 20 to promulgate it.
The cases’
promulgation was originally expected to be held on or before November 20 but
Solis-Reyes asked for a 30-day extension “due to the voluminous records of these cases.”
The case dragged on
for more than a decade which private prosecutor Nena Santos blamed on the
“delaying tactics” employed by the principal respondents, the Ampatuans.
FOCAP added that
the Philippine government has to do much more to banish the political barbarism
that engenders media killings.
“The horrific
display of impunity that claimed 58 lives, including 32 Philippine media
workers, on November 23, 2009 underscored the deadly mix of political abuse and
government failures that remains a threat we face today,” FOCAP said.
“Already regarded
as one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, the Philippines
became the scene of the deadliest single attack on media workers with the savage
killings in Ampatuan town,” FOCAP added.
The group called on
officials at the highest level to take effective steps to stop all forms of
attacks and intimidation against journalists.
“They should
fulfill their core constitutional duty to protect fundamental freedoms,” the
group added.
10th anniversary
activities
Meanwhile, the
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) announced its series of
activities commemorating the anniversary of the massacre.
The group announced
its concert dubbed #FIGHTFOR58: A Concert for Justice at the Mows Bar in
Matalino Street, Quezon City on November 22 at seven o’clock in the evening.
The concert is for
the benefit of the families of the massacre victims.
At five o’clock in
the morning of November 23, journalists, artists and other allies will
collectively paint a mural depicting their call for justice for the massacre
victims.
They will then
march on to Mendiola at 10 o’clock in the morning, pausing for 58 seconds at
exactly 11.23 AM to pay respect to the victims.
At Mendiola, they
will erect a wall-sized installation of the photos of the victims.
NUJP’s chapters
nationwide shall hold their own commemoration activities. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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Officers and members of the Negros Press Club and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Bacolod chapter reiterated their call for justice for the victims of the massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao that killed 58 people, including 32 journalists, 10 years ago.
The local media groups will mark their death anniversary with a tribute at the NPC building on Friday, November 22, at 3 p.m.
It will be followed by the lighting of candles and offering of prayers at the Marker for Fallen Journalists at the public plaza.
The victims’ kin, campus journalists, students, and civic leaders are also expected to join the commemoration.
On November 23, 2009, the 58 victims, including the 32 journalists, were shot to death on the way to the provincial poll office for the filing of certificate of candidacy of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, for governor against Andal Ampatuan Jr., the son of the governor at the time, Andal Ampatuan Sr., the alleged mastermind of the massacre who died in 2015.
The promulgation of judgment is expected to be handed down on or before December 20 this year.
The Maguindanao massacre is considered as the worst election-related violence in recent Philippine history and the worst attack on journalists the world has known. #
