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Human
Rights Watch
Media
Groups Condemn Newsman’s Murder
Killing reflects
deterioration of civil liberties situation
Bullets
from a .45 caliber pistol claimed the life of yet another journalist, the 74th
since 1986 when democracy was supposedly restored in the country.
BY
BULATLAT.COM
Eliseo
“Ely” Binoya, station manager and commentator of the Manila Broadcasting
Corp. affiliate Radyo Natin (Our Redio) in General Santos City in
southern Philippines was shot dead June 17 by motorcycle-riding gunmen along the
national highway. Binoya, who himself was riding a motorcycle, was apparently
followed by the killers and shot four times. Two of them found their mark. He
died on the spot.
Binoya
is the 74th journalist slain since 1986 when press freedom was
supposed to have been restored following the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. Of
the number, 16 were killed under the three-year presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Including those killed during the Marcos years, Binoya was the 106th
victim. The figures are based on data from the Philippine Movement for Press
Freedom, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and Bulatlat.com.
The
murder raised the ire of journalists, who described the incident as
“unconscionable.” The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP),
a national organization of media practitioners, said the latest murder
highlights the country’s “deteriorating press freedom situation.”
“The
deterioration of press freedom reflects the deterioration of respect for human
rights and civil liberties in the Philippines,” it said in a statement signed
by Jose Torres Jr., head of the NUJP Committee for the Protection of
Journalists, Carlos Conde, secretary-general, and Inday Espina-Varona, chairman.
The
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international press freedom watchdog,
said it is investigating whether the murder was related to Binoya’s
journalistic work. It noted that no one has been prosecuted for any of the
newsmen’s murders.
“The
Philippines cannot claim to be a country that respects press freedom while
journalists are killed with impunity,” Ann Cooper, CPJ executive director, was
quoted as saying.
NUJP
on the other hand said “the series of unsolved murders of journalists
contributes to the climate of impunity against journalists, particularly in the
provinces, where most of these attacks take place.”
Other cases
NUJP
noted other incidents between February and June this year:
-
Wounding
in an ambush of Cebu City broadcaster Cirse "Choy" Torralba of
Angel Radio on June 8;
-
Mauling
of Melvin Mamis of the multi-media group Southern Tagalog Exposure on May 31
during a human rights fact-finding mission in Rosario town, Batangas. The
perpetrators, who were members of the 20th Special Forces, tried to
confiscate his video camera;
-
Killing
of Ruel Endrinal of DZRC in Legazpi City by two unidentified gunmen on Feb.
11;
-
Grenade
attack against Modesto Gutierrez, a radio commentator of DWSI in Santiago
City, Isabela, on Feb. 13. Gutierrez survived the attack;
-
Repeated
closure of Bombo Radyo Isabela by Cauayan town Mayor Cesar Dy. The third and
latest was a week ago, according to NUJP;
-
Suspension
of DWBL broadcaster Rolando Bartolome allegedly for his criticism of
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo;
-
Libel
suit against a journalist in Ozamiz City who was simply covering a protest
action;
-
Filing
of libel suit this month against several publications, among them Newsbreak
and the Daily Tribune by the president’s husband, Miguel Arroyo;
-
Denial
by the Supreme Court of the request made by the Philippine Center for
Investigative Journalism for copies of the justices' statements of assets
and liabilities. The court's decision, according to NUJP, violates the
public's right to know;
-
Threats
by the government's censor, the Movie and Television Review and
Classification Board, to impose sanctions on television networks ABS-CBN and
GMA-7 for airing materials on the marriage of lesbian couples.
Aside
from CPJ, other international groups that have condemned the Philippines's
deteriorating press freedom record in the past include the International
Federation of Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontieres,
Human Rights Watch and Freedom House. Bulatlat.com
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