Last week was horribly costly for Philippine media, with three journalists murdered, one of them in front of his horrified wife and family.
The killing of Richard Kho and Bonifacio Loreto Jr., columnists of the defunct Aksyon Ngayon, on the night of July 30, in front of Loreto’s home in Quezon City, and that of freelance photojournalist Mario Sy, right inside his house in General Santos City last Aug. 1, should shatter any illusions still left about President Aquino’s “tuwid na daan,” unless that means the straight path to death.
In quick succession, the three became the 16th, 17th and 18th media practitioners murdered under Aquino’s watch and the 156th, 157th and 158th since our supposed return to democracy in 1986.
While others may have given the orders and pulled the trigger that snuffed out their lives, Aquino cannot and should not escape accountability for the deaths of our three colleagues and all those who died before them since 2010.
The continued inaction of this government toward ending media killings and, indeed, the continued murders of activists, indigenous people, farmers, lawyers, religious and others from many sectors and walks of life, simply for exercising their right to free expression, are enough proof of how dedicated and committed it is to defending and promoting human rights, which is nil; and constitute a tacit approval of the bloodshed.
Yes, Aquino, their blood is in your hands and we will not stop reminding you of this.
—ROWENA PARAAN,chair, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines,
89 Scout Castor corner
Scout Tuason Streets,
Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City,
nujphil@gmail.com