NY-based group pushes probe on threat vs journalist Vitug

A New-York based journalist advocacy group has urged Malacañang and the Supreme Court to probe the death threats reportedly received by a journalist after the publication of her book on the "insides" of the country's highest court. The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced concern over an "apparent lack of an effective government response" to threats to the life of journalist Marites Danguilan Vitug. "President Arroyo, Chief Justice Puno, as you know, we have long held the Philippine government responsible for the high level of impunity that has left unprosecuted virtually all 61 of the cases of journalists we count as killed in the country since 1992. The fact that a journalist of Vitug’s stature can be threatened in the capital city and that those threats have been callously dismissed by a spokesman for the highest court in the country only further discredits your government and the country’s judicial system," CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in a letter addressed to Mrs. Arroyo and Chief Justice Reynato Puno in a letter on CPJ website. Vitug is the editor of online news site Newsbreak, who has published the book "Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court." "We urge you to press for a full investigation of the threats against Marites Vitug not only for her safety, but for that of the country’s other journalists, and for the reputation of the Philippines," Simon added. Simon said Vitug reportedly received death threats in recent weeks, including a stalking incident on March 24. Before that, she also reportedly received four menacing text messages that mentioned following her as well as her son. "Vitug said she believes your intervention will serve as a deterrent to whoever is trying to intimidate her, and, hopefully, to those who try to intimidate other journalists in the future," Simon said in his letter. On the other hand, he chided Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez for branding the threats against Vitug “funny" and “ridiculous," also citing reports quoting him advising reporters to "not make this a big issue." "We find it disheartening that the highest judicial institution in the Philippines dismissed these threats," he said. Simon also chided Marquez for insinuating that the threats against Vitug were part of an attempt to gain publicity for her book. "This not only insults Vitug but denigrates the reputation of the court. Neither Marquez nor anyone else within the court’s administration has responded to numerous appeals from us for clarification," he added. In pushing for the investigation, Simon cited Vitug as saying that Manila police have not been able to trace the source of the threats. Police have advised her to take security precautions such as changing her daily travel routes and avoiding public places, he added. — with Nikka Corsino/LBG, GMANews.TV