Environmental group demands justice for slain Palawan broadcaster

An environmental legal assistance group has called on local and national law enforcement agencies to ensure that justice is given to slain Palawan broadcaster Dr. Gerardo "Gerry" Ortega. In a statement, the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) said authorities must not only work to put in jail the actual killer, "but that any and all those who were involved in his murder be brought to justice." "We stand with the indigenous peoples, the disenfranchised farmers and marginalized fisher folk in Doc Gerry’s fight for good environmental governance and social justice," ELAC added. Last January 24, Ortega was shot in the head as he was shopping in the San Pedro district of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan province. A few minutes earlier, he had just finished what turned out to be his last broadcast on dwAR radio. A commentator on dwAR, Ortega had publicly campaigned against mining operations in Palawan. He also headed an eco-tourism project in the province supported by the charitable arm of broadcaster ABS-CBN. Ortega, a former gubernatorial candidate, was also a vocal critic of the province's governor. ELAC, which has a branch office in Puerto Princesa, asserted that the murder will not deter them in their fight for Palawan's future. "We call on all Palawenos to assert all the more their rights and to continue to hold accountable Palawan’s leaders for all their actions, especially in the management of our natural resources and protection of our environment. This is what Doc Gerry advocated for. We will carry on with the fight," it said. Meanwhile, the Reporters without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres/RSF) branded the killing as an “act of savagery." “The organization is horrified by this act or savagery and calls once again on the government to guarantee the protection of journalists... It is time that the promises of Benigno Aquino III, president of the Philippines since July 2010, who announced better security for journalists in his country and an end to the culture of impunity, become a reality. Impunity remains the chief evil corroding the country," it said in a statement posted on its website. Another international media group said "Ortega's murder is a reminder that the Philippines is still among the world's most dangerous countries for media workers," International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)-Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said. IFJ’s affiliate National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) also condemned the murder. "His death, like those of all his colleagues before him, must not go unpunished by authorities in the Philippines," it said in a statement. Shortly after the shooting, police apprehended Manila resident Marlon de Camata (a.k.a. Marvin Alcaraz). It is not yet known whether Ortega's murder was related to his work as a radio anchor. [See: Hunt on against partner of Palawan broadcaster's killer] Ortega is the 142nd media worker to be killed since the end of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. The NUJP said if it is proven that Ortega's killing is work-related, he would be the second journalist to be murdered during President Benigno Aquino III's administration. While De Camata reportedly claimed to only have intended to rob Ortega, RSF noted that Ortega’s family lawyer, Joselito Alisuag, said the killing had to be linked to his work as a journalist since he had “no personal enemies or particular vice." Hundreds of supporters have been flocking to the wake of Ortega at the Seminario de San Jose in Tiniguiban since Monday evening. His eldest daughter Mika said Ortega's remains will be brought on Friday to his hometown of Aborlan, where the funeral is scheduled on Sunday afternoon. — with Carmela Lapeña/LBG/RSJ/YA, GMANews.TV