Press freedom watchdog asks GMA to probe threats vs journalist

MANILA, Philippines - The New York-based press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has asked President Arroyo and Chief Justice Reynato Puno to pursue a full investigation of the threats against journalist Marites Danguilan Vitug, who recently published the book “Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court.”

CPJ executive editor Joel Simon also expressed disappointment that Supreme Court (SC) spokesman Midas Marquez told reporters that he found the threats against Vitug “funny,” “ridiculous,” and “insinuated” that the threats against Vitug were part of an attempt to gain publicity for her book.

“This not only insults Vitug but denigrates the reputation of the court,” Simon said, adding that neither Marquez nor anyone within the SC has responded to “numerous appeals” from us for clarification.

“We have long held the Philippine government responsible for the high level of impunity that has left unprosecuted virtually all 61 of the cases of journalists we count as killed in the country since 1992. The fact that a journalist of Vitug’s stature can be threatened in the capital city and that those threats have been callously dismissed by a spokesman for the highest court in the country only further discredits your government and the country’s judicial system,” Simon said.