Festering five

IFJ: Philippines ‘epicenter of impunity’

By Cong B. Corrales

Five is a ludicrous number.

Especially when it refers to the years since the single deadliest attack on the Fourth Estate happened, yet justice remains elusive.

Five years ago, on November 23, 2009, 58 people—32 of whom were media workers—were slaughtered on a grassy knoll in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao. It has come to be infamously known throughout the world as the Ampatuan Massacre, the worst case of election-related violence in the country, and the deadliest attack against journalists in the world.

Since then, at least 33 journalists have been killed—as if nothing had been learned from the Ampatuan Massacre.

Five years ago, the Ampatuan Massacre caught the Philippine government flat-footed. The incident exposed the several long-festering, long-known yet unaddressed issues.

Five years since, the Aquino government has yet to deliver on its promise of justice for the victims of the massacre—a promise which propelled him into power.

In a report—entitled Ampatuan Massacre: Five years on—the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its local affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) declared the Philippines as the “epicentre of impunity.”

The 46-page report is an output of the International Solidarity Mission to the Philippines in November 19 to 24, last year. Led by Jane Worthington, acting director of IFJ-Asia Pacific, the mission aimed to investigate the progress—or the lack of it—on justice for the victims of the Ampatuan Massacre.

“While President Benigno Aquino III came to power on the promise of justice for victims of Ampatuan, the leader has failed to deliver any meaningful outcome and has gone on to use international forums to take pot shots at the journalists who have been murdered since, suggesting they were somehow to blame for their own murders. As if murder is an acceptable outcome,” Worthington wrote in the report’s preface.

The mission’s head delegate reported that in their meetings during the mission, representatives of the Aquino government declared that President Aquino “cares about all humans, not just journalists.” To which, Worthington rhetorically asked: “how are ordinary citizens to feel safe if journalists keeping the powerful in check are being forced from their jobs out of fear, intimidation or threat?”

“If journalists are to work in cohort with law enforcement agencies to bring killers and the corrupt to justice, they must be given access to information. The Aquino administration would do well to come through on its election promises for Freedom of Information legislation, among others,” added Worthington.

The IFJ also pointed that it has sent numerous letters to Aquino inquiring about the status of the Ampatuan Massacre but all these have remained unanswered.

Read full report below.

Ampatuan Massacre Five Years On.pdf

The IFJ and NUJP have issued the following recommendations after the International Solidarity Mission.

To President Aquino and the Philippines Government:

• To publicly condemn all acts of violence against media workers. Such action would demonstrate the Philippines’ commitment to press freedom and its international human rights obligations to protect media workers.

• Promote the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill promised by President Aquino during his election campaign. This would address the issue of impunity by providing greater media access to official documents.

• Recognise November 23 as a national day of media freedom in remembrance of the journalist lives lost the Philippines and help promote the role of the media as a vital arm of democracy.

• Mark November 2, the UN-declared International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, in accordance with the UN decree.

• Establish and implement programs outlined under the UN Action Plan on Security of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and report on the progress and the steps taken by the state to address impunity as requested by UNESCO’s director general. This information is to be released to the international community each year on November 2.

• Commit to provide ongoing financial support to the families of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre; compensate them for the significant impacts of the lengthy trial and for the actions of agents of the state in the massacre, ensure the families are free from any external pressure or bribes.

• Revoke Executive Order 546 which allows local officials to arm members of Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs).

• Provide sufficient resources and political support to ensure that authorities conduct exhaustive and timely investigations and trials relating to crimes against journalists.

On Justice and Human Rights:

• Conduct an independent review of the Inter-Agency Committee on Extra Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of Persons which has been charged with coordinating all government efforts to address media and extra-judicial killings and related cases since 2012. Specifically, refine its coordination work and draw specific roles for each agency and ensure that all journalists and media groups are consulted through regular, detailed updates.

• Investigate thoroughly, prosecute and report on the 54 “priority” unsolved cases of media killings outlined by Justice Secretary, Leila De Lima, as head of the Inter-Agency Committee and publicly disclose the progress on these cases before November 2, 2015.

• Reopen other remaining unsolved cases of slain journalists dating back to 1986 and regularly report with detailed information to the media and public on the status and progress of all cases of killed journalists.

• Ensure a mechanism for the immediate transfer of venue for cases in regional areas critical areas where suspects may influence proceedings, including inclusion by the Supreme Court in the regular court rules upon the determination of the prosecution service or other relevant agency.

• Adopt journalist protection initiatives and legislative reforms implemented in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Honduras, including recognition of media workers as an “at risk” group and prevention strategies that include much-needed regional and federal structures for protecting human rights.

• Implement the recommendation of the Alston report (2007) for the Ombudsman’s office to formally acknowledge its independent constitutional role in responding to extrajudicial killings plausibly linked to public officials.

• The Department of Justice to consider legislation that would sanction or penalize corrupt prosecutors.

To Law Enforcement:

• Conduct an independent review of the state witness protection program to determine the efficacy and financial investment to ensure witnesses are guaranteed the expected level of protection.

• Enact a statutory framework for the nation’s law enforcement officials to make agencies more accountable through tailored mechanisms of internal review and Parliamentary oversight to report on attacks on journalists within a designated timeframe.

• Investigate all reports of threat, attempted murder, intimidation, assault and attempted bribery of witnesses and victims’ families as well as a systematic prosecution of the suspects in individual lawsuits.

• Ensure Task Force Usig sets targets for the arrest and prosecution of the remaining 84 suspects at large in Ampatuan massacre and for the arrest of masterminds in the Esperat and Ortega killings and to report by May 2, 2015, UN World Press Freedom Day.

• Ensure the Task Force’s investigations extend to the criminal masterminds behind journalist killings in addition to the immediate killers.

• Reform laws to give national authorities broader jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes where provincial authorities have failed, including the possibility of allowing prosecutors to lead or participate in these investigations.

• Ensure the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology installs CCTV near prison cells of Ampatuans and other suspects.

• Grant unfettered access to the Ampatuan court inside the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 for the media and the families of the victims.

• Train military and police in their responsibilities for the safety and security of citizens, including media personnel. Ensure they are aware of their obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738; encourage cooperation between media and the state’s agencies in the future investigation of journalist attacks.

To Media:

• Media companies to commit to invest and contribute a percentage of their operational budget to safety training and professional development, particularly in the area of journalist ethics and to purchase safety equipment and insurance cover for journalists working in conflict zones.

• Establish a secure threat monitoring media network in conjunction with the Inter-Agency Committee and Task Force Usig.

• Investigate and report on issues of anti-press violence, including individual attacks, threats, and harassment, regardless of the victim’s media affiliation.

To the UN and International Support Agencies:

• International NGOs and UN agencies to provide ongoing and meaningful support to media workers in southern Mindanao for safety and professional development, to counter the climate of fear that has led to self-censorship and ongoing safety risks.

• Support the NUJP and other journalism organisations to continue the provision of safety and commit to ethical journalism training programs across the country to strengthen the capacity of the media as the fourth pillar of democracy.

The International Solidarity Mission delegation was composed of:

1. Mike Dobbie, communications manager of the Media section of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Australia)

2. Nonoy Espina, NUJP national director (Philippines)

3. Sonny Fernandez, NUJP national director (Philippines)

4. Philippa McDonald, the federal vice-president of the Media section of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, and a trustee of the Media Safety and Solidarity Fund (Australia)

5. Schave De Rozario, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists of the Malaysia Peninsula (NUJM) representing the Southeast Asian Journalist Unions – SEAJU (Malaysia)

The local logistics and coordination for the mission was handled by the NUJP. The mission featured visits to General Santos City and Maguindanao, Mindanao; and in Manila.