In search of solutions to media killings

NONE of the twenty-five Filipino journalists killed from 2000 to 2005 belonged to a national news organization; most of them were provincial broadcasters with local radio and television, either doing freelance reporting or buying block time. At the time of their deaths, these journalists were reporting on anomalies in their communities.

These were some of the key findings of a recent study by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) that sought to find a pattern in the killings of journalists in the country. International press organizations have called the country “the most murderous of all” for journalists, second to none, even countries where drug lords rule or civil strife rages. This year, five journalists have been killed on duty.

“We want to understand a pattern in the killings of journalists to help us in our search for solutions,” CMFR Executive Director Melinda Quintos De Jesus said upon the study’s launch.

While there is no single solution, De Jesus said, certain steps can be taken to minimize the potential harm for journalists. These include providing journalists with safety and security training, and assisting those who are threatened with stronger legal defense.

Already, discussions are being held between the National Press Club and members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines regarding the grant of pro bono legal assistance to journalists facing threats. “Perhaps this will have a tempering effect against those who want to harm journalists,” De Jesus said. Press Councils also need to be strengthened so the public can turn to them for whatever grievances they might have against a journalist.

There is a need too, said the CMFR, to provide journalists with trainings on ethics. Practicing responsible journalism will help protect journalists by gaining the support and trust of the public. “That is not to say that the irresponsible journalist deserves to be killed,” De Jesus stressed. There are existing laws that protect the rights of those who might feel aggrieved by the media.

Since 1986, when formal democratic institutions were restored and such space allowed groups to keep count, there have been 54 journalists killed in the line of duty, according to CMFR.

For sure, De Jesus said, there has been progress in calling public attention to the rash of killings of journalists. Protest rallies have been organized by press unions and there are politicians who have issued statements announcing the grant of monetary reward to those who will aid in finding suspects.

Today, too, there is the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) that assists families of killed journalists and monitors the prosecution of cases.

But there is a need, said De Jesus, to take a closer look at the killings and find possible relief from what is increasingly a threatening environment especially for the most vulnerable members of the press.

The CMFR is a non-profit foundation that seeks to promote autonomy and accountability in Philippine journalism. It publishes PJR Reports, a monthly discussion of issues facing the Philippine press.

It is a welcome development as well, CMFR said, that the Philippine National Police created its Task Force-Newsmen in July 2004. “This is a step towards a more resolute pursuit of suspects.”

CMFR found that since 1986, only two cases of journalists’ killings have led to convictions: those of, one, a radio station deskman in 1996 and two, the publisher-editor of a local newspaper in 1991. In both cases, no mastermind was ever found and prosecuted.

Other findings of the CMFR study include the following:

• 19 of the 25 slain journalists from 2000 to 2005 were killed either in their homes or offices, or on their way home.
• 21 of the 25 killed were radio or television broadcasters.
• The most dangerous regions were Calabarzon (IVA) and Zamboanga (IX), with the highest numbers of killings.
• 17 of the 21 broadcasters killed did not have accreditation from the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), either failing to renew their license or failing the accreditation exam.
• Only five of all these killings have cases in court.

Journalists are vulnerable in many other parts of the world. The Commitee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) studied more than five years of death records from 2000, and found that the vast majority of the 190 journalists killed on duty worldwide did not die in crossfire or while covering dangerous assignments. Instead, six of every ten of them were hunted down and murdered in retaliation for their work.

Read CMFR’s report here.