2 journalists in Negros Occidental get death threats

At least two journalists based in Negros Occidental have received death threats through text messages, prompting the local press club to call a meeting regarding the matter. Online news site The Visayan Daily Star on Wednesday quoted one of the journalists Larry Trinidad of Radio Mindanao Network as saying he received a text message Monday saying he will be killed by Saturday. “Tumba ka na sa Sabado. Ikaw himuon sample sa media killing (You will be dead by Saturday, you will be an example of media killing)," the message read. The report also said, before Trinidad received the death threat, one of his friends had been receiving text messages that sought to stop implicating the Army in the death of Bayan Muna member Benjamin Bayles. Bayles died after two men shot him in Himamaylan town in Negros Occidental last month. Trinidad suspects the senders of the text messages to him and his friend were the same people, the report said. The radio station’s program director advised Trinidad to report the incident to the police for recording. On the other hand, Jaime Lim, 41, Negros Bureau chief of a regional newspaper, reported to local police he got a death threat through a text message from an unknown sender. Lim said that he was at their office at Rosario-Jasmin streets at about 4:29 p.m. Monday when he received the text message that reads “Tumba ka na, ikaw himuon sample sa media killing (You will be dead, you will be an example of media killing)." Negros Press Club (NPC) president Julius Mariveles said he will meet with other officers of the club to discuss the matter. The threatened journalists should not take the threats for granted and should be extra careful, he said. The NPC officers will have a dialog with the Philippine National Police on Saturday about the reported death threats to the two journalists, the report said. In the meantime, Bacolod City Police officer-in-charge Senior Superintendent Celestino Guara assured media people of their safety. But at the same time, he advised those who received death threats to avoid being complacent. Last week, Guara recommended arming of media people because of the successive killings of their colleagues, especially those who are under threat. — RJAB Jr./LBG, GMANews.TV