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BY BULATLAT.COM

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines recently concluded its 4th National Congress, with a new set of officers and a renewed sense of mission to serve the Filipino working journalist.

Sixty journalists representing 40 chapters from all over the country attended the congress, held April 15 at the SSS auditorium in Quezon City. The congress theme was “Media Under Fire.”

A 15-member directorate was elected by the chapter representatives, who in turn elected the officers. Inday Espina-Varona, editorial director of Graphic magazine, was elected chairman while Arthur Allad-iw of the Northern Dispatch in Baguio City, vice-chairman. Carlos Conde, who writes for New York Times and one of Bulatlat.com editors, was elected secretary-general. Freelance journalist May Rodriguez was re-elected treasurer while Rowena Carranza-Paraan, also of Bulatlat.com, was elected auditor.

Elected directors are Jose Torres Jr. of ABS-CBN.com, Delfin Perez of Manila Bulletin, Ares Gutierrez of the Journal Group, Leti Boniol of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), Joey Natividad of TODAY (Camarines Sur), Diosa Labiste of the PDI (Iloilo City), Nestor Burgos of PDI (Iloilo City), Maureen Japzon of EV Newsweek (Tacloban City), Grace Cantal-Albasin of PDI (Cagayan de Oro City), and Mars Marata of Salug Valley Currents (Ozamis City).

The composition of the new NUJP national directorate is unprecedented, in that the provinces and regions are amply represented: of its 15 members (including the officers), seven are based outside Metro Manila.

"The composition of the new national directorate reflects the NUJP's thrust to involve journalists from the provinces in the struggle for press freedom and for economic rights. They most often bear the brunt of the threats against press freedom and of the poor economic conditions that confront most Filipino journalists," said Varona, the new chairman.

Most attacks against the press in the Philippines in recent years have victimized provincial journalists. In 2003, seven journalists were killed, putting the country on the same level as Colombia as one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. From 1986, 51 journalists have been killed, according to the combined list of the NUJP and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. A list by Bulatlat.com indicates 73 were murdered from that year onwards, until the killing in February this year of another broadcaster from Legazpi City.

Most journalists in the provinces are also poorly paid and hardly enjoy security of tenure. Many are hired as stringers and correspondents of Manila dailies, who often pay them inadequately.

Within the past two years, the NUJP has increased the number of its chapters outside Metro Manila. It now has chapters in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Ozamis, Compostela Valley, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Tarlac, Rizal, Lucena, Baguio, Pampanga, Olongapo, Subic, Laguna, and Camarines Sur.

In Metro Manila, the group has chapters in the PDI, Journal Group, Malaya, Manila Times, Philippine Graphic, INQ7.net, Bulatlat.com, ABS-CBN.com, ABC5 and the Shipping & Travel Journal, among others.

"The NUJP in the last four years has emerged as a staunch, consistent defender of the rights of journalists, a prominent voice in the struggle for economic rights within the media profession. The NUJP is likewise at the forefront of the struggle to improve ethics in our profession and upgrade
journalists' skills. These are our organization's core commitments and we have largely fulfilled that mandate," said Edgar Cadagat of Bacolod in his report as outgoing NUJP chairman during the national congress.

Christopher Warren, president of the International Federation of Journalists in which NUJP represents the Philippine press, said in his message to the group: "The NUJP is essential to strong and independent journalism in the Philippines and should be proud of its dedication to its members' professional freedom and working rights."

Founded in 1986 by a group of progressive journalists led by the late Antonio Ma. Nieva, the NUJP is a lateral guild committed to securing the interests of the Filipino working press. Unlike other press groups, the NUJP is not a social club. It seeks to promote and safeguard the economic interest and social well-being of the journalist, upgrade his professional skills, raise the standards of journalistic ethics, carry out welfare programs for its members, and foster solidarity with journalists everywhere.

It has 15 working commissions, among them the Committee to Protect Journalists, which monitors and investigates attacks against the press. Bulatlat.com