This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 16, May 31, 2006
Journalists Bid Farewell
to Slain Colleague BY
ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Journalists all over the
country and friends from cause-oriented organizations wore black today in
various protest activities to bid farewell to slain colleague Fernando “Dong”
Batul, a commentator for DYPR in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Batul was shot dead by two
motorcycle-riding men at early morning on May 22. He was the third journalist
slain in the Philippines this month alone, and the fifth this year. He is the 42nd
journalist killed under the Arroyo administration, and the 79th since
1986 – when democracy was supposed to have been restored in the Philippines
following the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship. “Most of the slain
journalists lost their lives in the line of duty,” National Union of Journalists
(NUJP) director Jose Torres Jr. told reporters during a candle-lighting activity
at the Boy Scouts Circle in Quezon City. “This is what makes the killings
alarming.” In Quezon City, NUJP was
joined by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Philippine Center
for Photojournalism (PCP), Association of Responsible Media (Armed), Alyansa ng
Filipinong Mamamahayag (AFIMA or Alliance of Filipino Journalists), Bayan Muna
(People First), and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR). Former
cabinet secretaries Dinky Soliman and Teresita Quintos-Deles were also at the
candle-lighting. Similar protest activities
were held in Puerto Princesa City, Baguio City, Olongapo City, Albay, Lucena
City, Pampanga, Rizal, Bacolod City, Iloilo, Tacloban City, Davao City, Pagadian
City, Ozamiz City, General Santos City, Tarlac City, Laguna, Ormoc City, and
Northern Samar. “Indeed, it is the supreme
irony that the democracy we are supposed to have won back in 1986 has claimed
more journalists – 79 thus far – than the 34 lost throughout the whole 14-year
Marcos dictatorship,” the NUJP declared in a statement. “Given this
administration’s generally callous disregard both to the killings – not just of
our colleagues but of hundreds of dissenters as well – and to the calls for
justice and respect for people's rights and liberties, we are afraid we have not
seen the end of this murderous rampage,” the statement said. Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
■
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Bulatlat
Posted 11:00 P.M., May 31, 2006