French government lauds
PCIJ for Kate Webb award

The French government extended its warmest congratulations to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for winning the 2009 Kate Webb Awards for “its courageous work for the freedom of information.”

A statement released by the French government says that the French people also wish to pay tribute to the 31 media workers who were murdered last Nov. 23 in Ampatuan Maguindanao. “This odious act dramatically illustrates the extremely difficult conditions in which some journalists in the Philippines, particularly in the provinces, carry out their mission, despite the acts of intimidation and violence against them,” the statement read.

Read the official statement in French here.