As part of his vow to end the slow grind of justice to the media killings in the country, the camp of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte mulls over mounting courts exclusive for hearing cases related to killings of journalists.
The barring of some media personnel by security personnel and the delayed entry of many to a forum is a “paranoia” on the part of the government, says a local chapter of a media organization.
An organization of the country’s photojournalists on Friday slammed House Bill 4807, or the Protection against Personal Intrusion Act, saying it “suppresses press freedom.”
Media practitioners marked the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) with a forum last Monday.
“WORLD PRESS Freedom Day has for many years been an occasion for mourning rather than celebration in the Philippines, where, since 1986, 140 journalists and media workers have been killed for their work, among them the 32 killed on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province. This year’s commemoration is no different,” the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said in a statement Friday.
In its “Getting Away With Murder: CPJ’s 2014 Global Impunity Index” report released Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that 51 journalists in the country have been killed next to Somalia with 27 killed and one conviction and Iraq with 100 and no conviction.
