Group tells Noynoy: Protect press freedom unlike your predecessor

After voicing dismay with the outgoing administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo , an international media watchdog said it is looking forward to working with President-elect Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III in protecting press freedom and journalists. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also asked Aquino to show a "sincere government commitment" in ending the culture of impunity in the country. “We understand that your administration will face obstacles in reversing these trends and breaking the culture of impunity that has resulted in so many media killings, but this should not be an excuse for inaction. A sincere government commitment to press freedom and the protection of journalists is essential to achieving the democratic aspirations embodied in your strong mandate to rule and reform," the CPJ said in a letter signed by executive director Joel Simon published on the CPJ website. The group reminded Aquino of his campaign promise to create an independent commission to investigate various allegations of corruption against the outgoing administration. Maguindanao massacre probe The CPJ also recommended that Aquino immediately start investigating the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre that killed 57 people, including 32 journalists. “We recommend that you immediately launch a probe into the circumstances surrounding last November’s Maguindanao massacre, the single deadliest attack against the press anywhere in the world since CPJ started monitoring violations in 1981. Thirty-two journalists and media workers were among the 57 people killed in the election-related violence that has implicated members of the politically influential Ampatuan clan," CPJ said. It lamented that despite the local and international outcry condemning the killings, indications are that the judicial process may be compromised by political considerations. CPJ said that in April, acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra dropped charges against two top suspects—Zaldy Ampatuan, the former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and his uncle, Akmad Ampatuan, former mayor of Mamasapano—against the advice of the public prosecutors working on the case. “Although Agra later reinstated the charges on the basis of newly submitted evidence, his willingness to intervene by overruling the Quezon City Regional Court that is hearing the case underscored how vulnerable judicial processes can be to political pressures in the Philippines," CPJ said. It also cited reports from Philippine-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility that family members of victims have been approached with offers of money to drop charges against Ampatuan clan members. “[We believe] that convictions of the masterminds and the assailants involved in the Maguindanao massacre would be a meaningful first step in breaking the cycle of murder and impunity that has taken so many media members’ lives in the Philippines," it said. On the other hand, the CPJ also voiced concerns about other threats to press freedom in the country which remain unpunished. It cited its Global Impunity Index that ranked the Philippines as having the third worst record in the world for bringing the killers of journalists to justice, after Iraq and Somalia. "It is a record unbefitting Asia’s oldest democracy, and should be addressed immediately," it said. The group lamented that the outgoing administration's Task Force USIG, which it mobilized to resolve media killings, has been unsuccessful in achieving convictions in 62 of 68 journalist murder cases since 1992. CPJ added that only partial justice was reached in the other six cases. The group cited Task Force USIG member Police Chief Henry Libay as saying in July 2009 that mishandling of evidence and the lack of witnesses willing to testify were major impediments to serving justice. “He (Libay) said that witnesses shied from the courtroom out of fears of reprisal, lack of financial support, and a general distrust of law enforcement," it said. -- LBG, GMANews.TV