H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Office of the President
Malacanang Palace
Manila
Republic of the Philippines
Fax: (011.63.2) 735-6152
Your Excellency:
In the ten weeks since we last wrote to you, five more journalists have been murdered in the Philippines, bringing the total number of Filipino journalist deaths in 2004 to twelve. These journalists had reported on corruption, illegal gaming, drug trafficking and other illegal activities. Whether they were killed to silence future reports or as punishment for their work, this violence is unacceptable in a modern democracy committed to press freedom.
We wholeheartedly agree with UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura who remarked, in his condemnation of one of these recent murders, “Seeing media professionals executed because they are brave enough to denounce illegal activities is intolerable. These murders highlight the fact that journalists play a vital role not only in sustaining democracy, but also in contributing to the rule of law.”
Among the recently murdered are:
> Radio presenter, Eldy Gabinales, also known as Eldy Sablas, of DXJR-FM was shot dead on October 19 in Tandag. Most recently, he had been co-presenter of the show “Singgit sa mga Lungsuranon” (Cry of the People). His reports exposed drug trafficking and illegal gaming in Tandag.
> Gene Boyd Lumawag, 26, a news photographer for the local news agency, Mindanews, was shot dead on November 12. He was hit in the forehead and killed instantly as he headed towards the pier in the town of Jolo to photograph the sunset. As you know, Jolo is the capital of Sulu Province, which has a Muslim-majority population and is a stronghold for the Islamic separatist group Abu Sayyaf. According to Reporters Without Borders, army investigators told Mindanews that they thought Lumawag was shot by members of a terrorist group linked to Abu Sayyaf, which also has been associated with Al-Qaeda. Police sources said that they believed the motive for the killing was a corruption story Lumawag was pursuing.
> Herson Hinolan, Bombo Radiyo commentator and station manager, was shot in the stomach and arms by unknown assailants on November 13 in Kalibo on Panay Island. He died of his injuries two days later. Although the motive for his murder was unclear, Hinolan was known as a “hard-hitting commentator” who had spoken out against illegal gaming and exposed protection of traffickers by the members of the military. After Hinolan’s murder, another Bombo Radiyo reporter was threatened with suffering the same fate.
> Stephen Omaois, 24, and a reporter with the provincial bi-weekly, Guru Press, and local public radio, DZRK, was killed on November 26. His bludgeoned body was found in a garbage bin on the outskirts of Tabuk in remote Kalinga Province and showed evidence of torture, according to a report in the Philippine Inquirer. Staff members at the newspaper received death threats following Omaois’ investigation of a government public works project.
> Allan Dizon, a photo-journalist for the daily, The Freeman, and the tabloid, Banat News, was shot twice on November 27 and died two hours later. He had recently written about drug trafficking in a Cebu neighborhood.
Your Excellency, 61 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since the restoration of democracy in 1986. No other at-peace nation in the world came anywhere close to equaling the Philippines’ shameful 2004 record of 12 journalists murdered. Somehow, criminals and corrupt officials in your country have come to believe that silencing truth-telling journalists will help them avoid punishment. Supporting their belief may be your government’s failure to convict a single perpetrator of any of these murders.
Respectfully, we suggest that one of your goals for 2005 must be to stem this shocking tide of violence and death. We applaud your creation of a task force to investigate the killings of journalists. We urge you to support this program strongly and make certain that the perpetrators are brought to justice. When you address your nation, we hope you will make it clear that crimes against journalists are especially heinous and have no place in a modern democracy.
Respectfully yours,
Kevin McDermott Norman A. Schorr Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee
cc: Albert del Rosario
Ambassador of the Philippines to the U.S.A.
Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines
1600 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Fax: (202) 467-9417
Ambassador Lauro L. Baja
Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines
to the United Nations
556 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Fax: (212) 840-8602
Francis J. Ricciardone
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines
Embassy of the United States of America
1201 Roxas Boulevard
Manila
Philippines
Fax: (011.63.2) 522-4361