Back words with action, Aquino told

Forty-four months after the Ampatuan massacre, President  Aquino delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address, boasting of his accomplishments and plans, unmindful that in the first three years of his watch, journalists who report the true state of the nation every day continued to fall victim to attacks and killings.

The state of press freedom has not improved at all under Mr. Aquino’s watch. His presidency saw the passing of repressive laws such as the Cybercrime Prevention Act, even as Mr. Aquino reneged on one of his key promises—to enact the Freedom of Information Act.

Worse, journalists continue to be killed with impunity. In fact, 15 journalists have suffered the ultimate censorship—murder—in the first three years of this Aquino presidency, four more than the 11 cases documented in the first three years of the presidency of his late mother, Corazon Aquino.

Only 10 of 155 cases of media killings—one every two years and three months—have seen convictions, all of them involving only those who pulled the trigger. In fact, not a single mastermind, in cases where they have been identified and charged, has been arrested yet.

The most brazen among these cases—the massacre that killed 32 of our colleagues on Nov. 23, 2009—is currently stuck in a limbo of motions and bail hearings.

We demand from the current Aquino administration a speedier resolution of the Ampatuan massacre case and all other pending cases of journalist killings in the country.

We challenge Mr. Aquino to back his words with action by enacting the Freedom of Information Act and repealing the Cybercrime Prevention Act to fulfill his promises of free expression, respect for our rights and transparent governance.

We also ask the people to not forget the Ampatuan massacre, and all other cases of murder and assault against people in media. For every attack against a journalist is an act to mute the people’s voice, and a blow to their right to know.

—ROWENA PARAAN,

chair, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines,

nujphil@gmail.com