The killing of yet another Filipino journalists moves us to publish in this editorial the following statement sent by Nestor Burgos, chair of the NUJP:

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The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemns the murder of broadcaster Julius Cauzo, 51, of Cabanatuan City radio station dzJJ, who was shot dead by a lone gunman as he was on his way to host his program on Thursday, November 8.

Cauzo is the fifth member of media killed this year alone, the 14th under the Aquino administration and the 154th since 1986.

Although authorities have yet to establish a clear motive for the killing, police say Cauzo had regularly criticized graft and corruption on his program.

But whatever the reason for Cauzo’s murder, it is clear proof that the impunity with which media killings and other human rights violations are brazenly committed has continued to thrive because government - this administration in particular - has not, cannot, or will not act to end the bloodshed.

So much for promises of good governance and justice, and respect for the people’s basic civil and political rights.

Thus far, this administration has turned a deaf ear to the cries for justice of the victims of human rights abuses and has chosen to shunt aside legislation that would expand the space to enjoy our freedoms, such as the Freedom of Information Act, and foisted on us laws that would actually restrict these freedoms, such as the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Data Privacy Act.

Unless this administration shakes itself out of its apathy and fulfills its duty to protect our rights and liberties, it will have proven itself no better than its predecessor, bereft of legitimacy and unworthy of the people’s trust and respect.

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Surge of criminality suggests a failed state
That there has been a surge in criminality suggests that—notwithstanding the good news on the economic front—the Philippines is a failed state under this administration. We said the same thing of the Arroyo regime.

These Filipino journalists were killed doing their job of exposing anomalies or even merely opposing the plans of local political lords. With the notoriety of the Ampatuan Massacre—in which 58 persons, including 32 journalists, were killed—the Philippines is reputed to be the most dangerous place in the world for media workers.

President Benigno Aquino 3rd and his spokesmen have been condemning these murders. Lip service? The Palace frankly admits that the arrest and prosecution of killers have been wanting.

Presidential Spokesman Sec. Edwin Lacierda says that so far the Aquino administration has only filed charges in one case of journalist murder. This is the case against the persons accused of killing the well-respected environmentalist and radio broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega of Palawan province.

Involving leading Palawan politicians now the object of a manhunt, the case might not have reached the courts had there been no massive public outcry and incessant media pressure on the administration.

In April this year, the NUJP also issued a statement bewailing the government’s intention to treat the leading suspects—former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother Coron town Mayor Mario Reyes Jr.—with deference because of their positions instead of siccing the police after them.

The NUJP statement sent to media on April 3, 2012 said:

“Now it’s clear why extrajudicial killings are still committed with impunity in this benighted land of ours.

“It is not just because of official apathy or inaction—although there is a surfeit of that. It’s more because government allows them to happen. Proof of this is Malacañang’s readiness to agree with Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo’s decision last March 28, a Wednesday, to grant former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and his brother Mario Jr., mayor of Coron, until the weekend to surrender despite the warrants issued for their arrest in connection with the murder of broadcaster Gerardo Ortega, in ‘deference to his (Reyes’) position as a former governor.’ ”

“No, it does not matter that Palace mouthpiece Edwin Lacierda abruptly made a turnaround a few hours later and declared that the manhunt for the Reyes brothers was on. The issue here is how the administration so readily stood by the clearly illegal original decision of Robredo to grant the Reyes brothers a grace period instead of ordering their immediate arrest, no ifs, ands or buts, pursuant to law. What made matters worse was that Lacierda’s initial statement was issued a day after Reyes himself, in a recorded statement broadcast on radio, mocked justice and the very idea of government itself, spouting defiance and saying he would not surrender but would remain in hiding…

“This is no different from the defiance displayed by retired general Jovito Palparan—another former government official—with his refusal to surrender to stand trial for the disappearance of UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan. Where is Palparan now? Still nowhere to be found.

“How can Malacañang explain Robredo’s ‘deference’ to a former governor, which contrasts so glaringly with the zeal it has displayed in going after former President Gloria Arroyo and incumbent Chief Justice Renato Corona?

“The last time we looked, not even incumbent officials are shielded from arrest should they commit a crime, especially if it is a capital offense like murder….”

More media deaths now under Aquino
The National Press Club in a statement also lamented that more media people have been killed during President Aquino’s first two years in office than during former president (now Pampanga Congresswoman) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s first two years in Malacañang.

The number of “journalists killed under Aquino surpassed those [numbers of killed] registered during the incumbency of his mother, Corazon, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Arroyo administrations in their respective first two and a half years,” the NPC statement said.

We hope President Aquino decides to care about this issue. For if the police and other law-enforcement authorities are not exerting much effort to prosecute the suspects in these cases, it must be because they feel it’s all right for them to protect the likes of Palparan and desist from going after the murderers of journalists.