Investigate killing of journalists in Mindanao

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemns the murder of two journalists in Zamboanga del Sur and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

The NUJP calls for an immediate investigation on the separate killings of Rudy Alicaway and Leo Diaz and demand the identification, arrest and prosecution of those involved.

Two men riding tandem gunned down Alicaway while he was on his way home last Aug. 6 in Molave town in Zamboanga del Sur province. The gunmen finished off Alicaway as he tried to crawl away after being shot, according to a report in the Inquirer (“Radyo ng Bayan anchor gunned down in Zamboanga del Sur,” Inquirer.net, 8/7/17).

Alicaway, 46, was a radio anchor of Tigmo-Tigmo program at dxPB 106.9 (Radyo ng Bayan Molave). He was reportedly also a village councilman of Miligan in Molave.

Last Aug. 7, a motorcycle-riding gunman shot Leodoro Diaz after leaving his house in President Quirino town in Sultan Kudarat province. He died from multiple gunshot wounds. Diaz was a columnist of Sapol Newspaper and a reporter of Radio Mindanao Network.

Their deaths, if work-related, bring to a total of 177 the number of Filipino media workers killed since 1986.

The killings happened in two provinces of Mindanao even as the whole region is under martial law.

This again highlights the culture of impunity in the attacks against and killings of Filipino journalists that have remained unabated despite an international outcry.

DABET PANELO, secretary general, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, nujphil@gmail.com