The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) – Quezon Chapter strongly condemns the dastardly murder of colleague Bert Sison and the wounding of her daughter, also a fellow media worker in the province.
We call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Philippine National Police (PNP) officials to immediately solve the latest wave of media killing in Quezon province.
This climate of impunity against journalists has to end. The government must now act decisively to stop all these killings and harassments of journalists.
Police report that Sison was shot dead by still unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants while driving his car on the way to his home in the village of Lutucan Bata in Sariaya town.
He received nine fatal gunshot wounds in different parts of the body.
The victim’s daughter Liwayway, 30, one of the car’s passengers, was wounded in the arm and was rushed to a hospital in Lucena for emergency treatment. The younger Almira, 24, pretended to be dead inside the car.
The assailants escaped after the shooting.
Sison was a news correspondent of Regional Bulletin, a Quezon-based weekly. He was also the host of a weekly “Harana” (Serenade) program aired over radio dzAT-AM in Lucena City .
Liwayway and Almira, are also both correspondents of the same local newspaper.
Sison was the second Quezon newsman to be gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants.
In May 2003, Apolinario “Polly” Pobeda, a Lucena-based radio announcer was also shot dead while on his way to work.
In April 19 last year, Inquirer correspondent Delfin T. Mallari Jr. barely survived an ambush also perpetrated by two motorcycle-riding gunmen while driving his car on the way to a radio station in Lucena City .
Mallari’s companion, Johnny Glorioso, correspondent of ABS-CBN dzMM, was unhurt.
Pobeda’s case is still being heard in court while the arraignment of the suspects in Mallari’s ambush has yet to be conducted
References:
Francia B. Malabanan, NUJP- Quezon Chairperson
Belly Otordoz, NUJP- Quezon Secretary General
IMPORTANT NOTICE: INBOX is an archive of press releases, statements, announcements, letters to the editors, and manifestos sent to Davao Today for publication. Please email your materials to davaotoday @ gmail.com. Davao Today is not responsible for the content of these materials. The opinion expessed in these items does not reflect those of Davao Today and its staff. Please refer to our terms of use/disclaimer.
