Protect media, GMA urged

Alarmed by the recent murder of a journalist and the slay-try on another, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on President Arroyo yesterday to make good its promise to protect members of the media and punish their attackers.

The call came in the wake of the killing of Radyo ng Bayan field reporter Carmelo Palacios, and the attempted murder of Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent Delfin Mallari Jr.

Palacios was found dead in Sta Rosa, Nueva Ecija last April 17.

Palacios’ body was badly battered and he had a gunshot wound in the chin.

"This appalling murder, the 51st journalist murdered during Arroyo’s regime, is yet another tragic result of inaction from the Philippine government," IFJ president Christopher Warren said.

"As the death toll continues to climb, when will Arroyo take the action desperately needed by her people, and put an end to this senseless bloodshed?" Warren said in a statement, adding that "it is disgraceful enough that journalists in the Philippines are systematically killed for simply doing their job, but the culture of impunity that has developed under Arroyo has seen these journalists’ killers walk free."

Mallari, who is also the editor of Ang Dyaryo Natin, was wounded in an ambush in Lucena City on April 18, just one day after Palacios’ murder.

Mallari’s co-host in his radio program, Johnny Glorioso of dzMM, who was with him during the ambush, was unhurt.

The IFJ, which groups more than 500,000 journalists in over 115 countries, called for measures to guarantee the safety of journalists.

"The Philippine government has allowed the situation to go on long enough. The culture of impunity must be dismantled, and Arroyo must make genuine guarantees to protect the safety and security of all media personnel," the IFJ statement read.

In Malolos City, Bulacan-based journalists have been raising funds for the burial expenses for Palacios.

"This is the least we can do for a fellow journalist," said Erick Silverio, president of the Bulacan Capitol Press Corps (BCPC). Silverio is the correspondent of the People’s Journal in Bulacan.

Ramon Lazaro, president of the Philippine Science Journalists Inc. in Bulacan said few journalists in Bulacan knew Palacios, but they were all willing to help.

On Friday, Oscar Nieves, the Provincial Information Officer (PIO) and former employer of Palacios at the dwNE radio said the slain journalist, a widower, could hardly support his 19-year old daughter and two sons aged 15 and 13.

It was Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas Joson III who paid for the transfer of Palacios’ remains from a Sta. Rosa morgue to Guimba, the slain newsman’s hometown.