Razon: 60% of PNP men live below poverty line

Up to 60 percent of policemen live below the poverty line and most of them live in squalid slums, Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Director General Avelino Razon said yesterday.

"How do you expect these men to maintain the law when they live in squatter camps alongside criminals?" Razon asked during a media forum discussing the recent murders of journalists.

The Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres, in its 2006 annual report, said that "after Iraq, the Philippines is the most dangerous country for journalists."

The PNP, however, explained it has only 233,000 uniformed and non-uniformed police to protect 84 million people spread across over 7,100 islands of the archipelago.

Razon stressed the PNP is short of 45,000 personnel while some 1,282 police stations around the country, or about 80 percent of the total, have squatters living in them.

Razon claimed the PNP lacks 14,700 vehicles, 48 boats, 32 aircraft and 21,204 firearms.

At the same time oil and gasoline is in short supply with police having to pay out of their own pockets to keep their squad cars running.

"That is the reality of our police force today," Razon told the news conference which was held to seek greater cooperation between the media and police in the investigations of slain journalists throughout the country.

Three journalists have been murdered in the Philippines this year and seven were killed in 2005.

The killings have sparked widespread criticism that President Arroyo is not doing enough to stop threats to the free press.

The International Federation of Journalists condemned the latest murder.

"How many more journalists have to die in the Philippines before the President acts to stop the senseless slaughter?" asked federation president Christopher Warren.

Razon, as the chief of "Task Force Usig," pointed out the government’s concern over the spate of killings which prompted Mrs. Arroyo to form the task force.

Razon assured the leaders of media organizations of swift police action in all reported cases of violence against media practitioners.

"The government, through the PNP, will ensure swift police action in all cases against newsmen and we will leave no stone unturned in our investigation," he said.

Razon presented a briefing on the status of 330 cases being handled by Task Force Usig, which also include the murders of leftist leaders.

On the issue of slain journalists, the task force reported the filing of 32 criminal charges against key suspects in the killings since 2001. A total of 42 incidents were recorded during the five-year period.

The Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), an umbrella of media organizations for the promotion of press freedom in the Philippines, welcomed the efforts of the PNP in prosecuting cases of journalist slayings and prevent further violence against newsmen.

FFFJ’s Rachel Kahn expressed their appreciation for Task Force Usig’s efforts to monitor and investigate attacks against media practitioners.

The PNP, through Razon, initiated the dialogue with the press in coordination with the Bureau of Communication Services of the Office of the Press Secretary to discuss ways and means to prevent and solve crime committed against journalists.

Sheila Coronel of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), meanwhile, urged the PNP to allow the restrictive custody and immediate filing of administrative charges against policemen involved in crimes, particularly those committed against journalists, even at the preliminary investigation stage.

Aside from the PCIJ, others who were present for the dialogue were representatives from the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, and other professional organizations of working journalists in the country.

During the dialogue, Khan cited some of the findings of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) from studies made on recorded cases of slain journalists.

The CMFR noted the trend that most casualties were not affiliated with national news organizations. Two-thirds of the victims were either freelance journalists or radio hosts.

The CMFR noted that 80 percent of the slain broadcasters lacked accreditation from the regulatory body of the broadcast industry.

The situation elicited suggestions about putting up a central accreditation agency for all working journalists in the country to promote better observance of journalistic ethics. — AFP, Cecille Suerte Felipe