For press, RP is 2nd most dangerous place

WASHINGTON — The Philippines is the second most dangerous country for journalists in the world behind Iraq, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Washington Post, in a report on the recent killings of media members in the Philippines, quoted Abi Wright of the Committee to Protect Journalists as saying "a culture of impunity in the Philippines sets it apart from other places."

"There is no chance of retribution if you act against a journalist," Wright said.

In an article Sunday entitled "A ‘culture of impunity’ protects journalists’ killers in Philippines," the newspaper said when media members report about controversial issues, they can find themselves entangled in a web of overlapping political, business and criminal interests with little protection from local police.

The Post quoted the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) as saying 55 journalists have been murdered since the reintroduction of democracy and press freedom following the ouster of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

"Not a single case involving the murder of journalists since 1986 has yielded a conviction," the daily said.

"Media advocates attribute this to the power of those who order the killings and their ability to hide hired killers in other parts of the country. This track record, in turn, explains the increasing frequency of these murders, advocates say," The Post reported.

It said the latest journalist murdered this year was radio crusader Roger Mariano of dzJC Aksyon Radyo in Laoag City who was reportedly shot to death along a deserted rural road on July 31, two days before he was to have aired a news segment alleging corruption at a local electric utility.

The Post said most of the targeted journalists have been broadcasters.

In the provinces, radio is king. It reaches into the most remote villages and poorest neighborhoods and, unlike newspapers, is free, The Post added.

Meanwhile, in Manila, reports said a dismissed provincial policeman has surrendered to police officials in Misamis Oriental to answer accusations that he was involved in the murder of a Pagadian City-based journalist in 2002.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Edgar Aglipay formally presented to the media Guillermo Wapile, the accused gunman in the murder of Edward Damalerio, radio anchor of dxKP station in Pagadian.

Damalerio was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding men in the evening of May 12, 2002 in that southern Philippine city.

Aglipay said Wapile’s "surrender" was also in compliance with a promise the PNP chief made before the Senate committee on peace and order two weeks ago that the police force under his term will try its best to solve crimes pertaining to the killing of journalists.

During the Senate hearing, Aglipay mistakenly announced that Wapile had been arrested. But he apologized shortly afterwards when he learned that it was Wapile’s wife who had resurfaced to set the stage for the surrender of the accused.

Aglipay added that the surrender came following two weeks of negotiations and police operations initiated by outgoing Western Mindanao director Chief Superintendent Servando Hizon and Region 9 Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Supt. Greg Pimentel. Hizon has been reassigned to the PNP Crime Laboratory during last Friday’s revamp.

The negotiations also became successful because of the help of local authorities in Clarin town and Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental, police officials said.

According to Hizon, Wapile repeatedly denied involvement in the case and he surfaced to clear his name. Wapile has assured Hizon that he will now coordinate with investigators and provide information on the real killers of the radio anchor.

Inday Varona of the NUJP, meanwhile, lauded Aglipay for the arrest which had been derailed during the past leadership. — With Christina Mendez