Days before the first anniversary of the Ampatuan massacre on November 23, an international media group urged President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to help ensure the safety of journalists and media workers. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) asked Aquino to urge Congress to pass laws that would ensure the safety of media workers. The IFJ made this call as it prepared to participate in the first anniversary of the Ampatuan massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists, on November 23. The IFJ said it is now working with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) to hold a Global Day of Action on November 23. Citing NUJP figures, the IFJ said the massacre is the "world’s single biggest atrocity against journalists." “While acknowledging that President Aquino has held office for just six months, the IFJ is outraged that violence against journalists and media workers in the Philippines continues unchecked," IFJ President Jim Boumelha said in an article posted on the IFJ website on Friday. The Ampatuan massacre brought the toll of media killings in the Philippines to 136 from 1986 to 2009, the IFJ lamented. The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries. Recommendations to Aquino The IFJ cited an action plan it submitted to Aquino on his inauguration on June 30 this year:
Allocate resources for the transparent conduct of trials for all suspects implicated in the Ampatuan massacre; Direct authorities and law enforcement agencies to charge and prosecute all 196 suspects; Support the petition to the Supreme Court for live coverage of the massacre trials; Enact judicial and legislative reform to ensure that justice is delivered swiftly in all cases where media personnel are murdered, including compensation and counselling for families of victims; Establish teams to investigate promptly all threats and attacks against media personnel and to ensure their protection; Implement a secure witness protection program; Secure Congressional support for full enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill rejected by the previous Congress; Decriminalize libel and other measures which impede journalistic inquiry and freedom of expression; Issue a Congressional statement committing the Philippines to defending journalists’ rights; Lead national reconciliation by conducting public meetings and a public awareness media campaign on media freedom, democracy and human rights in the Philippines. "The IFJ stands willing to provide assistance to achieve implementation of these recommendations, should the Government of the Philippines request support," the group said. Fearing for safety Boumelha said journalists and media workers continue to fear for their safety almost one year after the Ampatuan massacre. “Too little is being done by authorities and power-holders in the Philippines to achieve justice for those murdered on November 23, 2009 and to ensure such an atrocity never occurs again," he added. The IFJ added that the massacre was the lowest point in a decades-long culture of impunity for the killings of media personnel in the Philippines. Four more media workers killed The IFJ said another four media workers were killed this year, while many other journalists across the Philippines continue to face serious threats because of their reports. Out of the 196 suspects in the massacre, 19 are now on trial while 130 remain at large. Most of those still free are police and members of private militias, the IFJ said. “The failure to charge and detain all accused, and the slow prosecution of the trials, is obstructing the delivery of a clear and firm message to the public and international community that impunity for media killings will not be tolerated," Boumelha said. “With just four convictions recorded for murders of media personnel in the Philippines since 1986, the massacre trials must secure credible convictions that will provide justice for the families and colleagues of the Ampatuan Town victims, and assist to end impunity in the Philippines," he added. Ampatuan massacre The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre, occurred on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Mindanao's Maguindanao province. At that time, the massacre victims were on their way to file Esmael Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor. Mangudadatu, the vice-mayor of Buluan town at the time of the massacre, eventually won the gubernatorial race in the May 10, 2010 polls. The 57 people who were killed and buried in a mass grave in Ampatuan town included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, as well as journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy. — VVP, GMANews.TV 
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