The Philippine Online Chronicles

November 23 is International Day to End Impunity (IDEI) which aims to gather international solidarity against media and activist killings committed worldwide.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that since 1992, at least 888 journalists have been killed around the world. 554 were were said to be killed with impunity. In 2011 alone, 41 media killings were reported.

"The majority of journalists killed are not battlefield casualties," said Joe Simon, director of the CPJ. "They are hunted down and targeted for murder. In nine out of 10 cases, their killers walk free."

Impunity in the Philippines

The Philippines ranks third on the CPJ Impunity Index, next only to Somalia and Iraq.

Since 1986, around 123 media practicioners have been killed in the Philippines, says the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Of these, only 10 cases have resulted in the conviction of hired killers. None of those who ordered the killings have been convicted.

The date November 23 was also specifically chosen by the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) because it marks the “single deadliest attack on journalists in recent history” — the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, which saw the election-related slaying of 58 people, most of them journalists.

The massacre trial is currently ongoing. While several members of the Ampatuan clan — the primary suspects in the case — are in detention, only two of them have been arraigned. In addition, only 55 out of 620 witnesses have been called upon. The case has also seen 104 motions filed by the Ampatuans and eight motions for the judge to inhibit in court.

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Call for justice

Various local and international groups have called upon the Philippine government to address the killing of journalists and the lack of justice for those slain, with the CMFR spearheading the Philippine IDEI campaign with the theme, “Pangulong Aquino: Ilan pang mamamahayag ang kailangang mapatay? Kilos na!”

“We must fight impunity [and] promote media literacy among our ranks as we also launch comprehensive media literacy and comprehensive ethics programs and campaigns,” said Rowena Paraan, executive director of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Media Safety Office in the Philippines, in a forum for journalism students and media practitioners.

Executive director of the CMFR Melinda Quintos De Jesus noted that journalists in the Philippines hold a degree of influence over the public, so that “the killing of journalists serves to effectively silence the critical voice and dissenting opinion in a community.”

“It is not only journalists who are killed,” she added. “Activists, NGO workers, lawyers, and judges have been killed in such numbers as to have attracted the attention of the United Nations.”

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