Twin media killings alarm intl media groups

The killing of two radio commentators within a span of 24 hours has "horrified" and "alarmed" international media groups into calling for immediate action by the Philippine government on the matter. While the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) was "horrified," Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) was alarmed to learn of the killings of Desidario Camangyan in Davao Oriental and and Jovelito Agustin in Ilocos Norte. "These killings, barely half a month before President-elect (Benigno Simeon III) Noynoy Aquino takes office, show that enemies of press freedom in the Philippines are confident they can continue to get away with murder," IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said in an article on the IFJ website. For its part, RSF urged outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President-elect Aquino to react firmly to the murders. It said the two murders signal Mrs. Arroyo’s failure as regards the safety of journalists. "Combating impunity and violence against the media must now be a priority for Aquino. The whole country’s credibility is at stake," it said Thursday. "Post-electoral violence against the media is not new, but these two murders in close succession are alarming. We call on the police and judicial authorities to assign additional personnel to the investigations and, in both cases, to seriously examine the possibility that the motive was linked to the victim’s work as a journalist," it added. For its part, New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) scored the Arroyo administration for failing to uproot the culture of impunity in the murders of journalists. "The outgoing Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo government failed to uproot the culture of impunity in the murders of journalists," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. "We urge President-elect Benigno Arroyo to take a more assertive and hands-on approach to reverse this disturbing trend, and ensure that the murder of Joselito Agustin not go unsolved." 'Markedly different' On Wednesday, the camp of Aquino vowed that the next administration's efforts in solving the rampant killing of journalists would be "markedly different" from the outgoing Arroyo administration. [See: NUJP wants Noynoy to act promptly on killings] "He [Aquino] will be serious about protecting the rights of the journalists. It will not be just lip service," said Aquino spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, noting that Aquino himself was a victim of human rights when his father, Senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was gunned down in 1983 upon his arrival from the United States. "His family's a victim of human rights [violations] so it’s natural for him to ensure that the rights of every individual will also be protected," said Lacierda, adding that Aquino would order full investigations into the spate of journalist killings in the country. Agustin, 37, a commentator for dzJC Aksyon Radyo-Laoag, was shot on his way home to Bacarra town, Ilocos Norte, on the night of June 15 and died in a hospital at 1.15 a.m. Wednesday, June 16. On Monday night, an unidentified gunman approached and then shot Desidario “Jessie" Camangyan, 52, anchorman of Sunrise FM in Manay town in Davao Oriental. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said a total of 139 media practitioners have been killed since democracy was won back in 1986 — 102 of these under the nine-year tenure of outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The National Police had formed special task forces to look into the killings. — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV