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Intl media group mourns loss of 'press freedom champion' Joe Pavia


An international media watchdog group is mourning the death of journalist Jose "Joe" Pavia, who succumbed to cancer at age 72 last Monday. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Holy Thursday that Pavia will be missed especially in the fight against impunity, which has been blamed for many media killings. "As a senior statesman among the Filipino press corps, Pavia's voice had important resonance both inside and outside government. And as the Global Campaign Against Impunity moves ahead, it's a voice for reform and justice that will be sorely missed in the Philippines," CPJ senior Southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin said. Pavia, a veteran journalist and tireless press freedom advocate, died on April 18 due to complications from lung cancer. Campaign against impunity New York-based CPJ said he was a key partner in its Global Campaign Against Impunity. Crispin noted that Pavia, like many other journalists during the post-1972 Martial Law Marcos regime, was fired under political pressure. At the time, he was assistant editor at the Philippine Herald. Crispin said Pavia has been helping fight for justice for victims of media killings under five Philippine administrations. "Though that fight continues, it has contributed to one of Asia's most vibrant civil societies," Crispin said. Crispin said he first met Pavia at the launch of CPJ's Global Campaign Against Impunity in Manila in November 2007. "Like many Filipino journalists who recall viscerally the intimidation and abuse of the Marcos era, Pavia spoke with frustration about the high number of media killings and the lack of justice that has now spanned five successive ostensibly democratic administrations," he said. He said Pavia fought, "literally to his dying day," to reverse that trend. Crispin cited Pavia's leadership role with the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), an important CPJ partner in the network of Philippines press groups. Media murders Pavia also contributed to the creation of rapid response "tracker teams" deployed to independently investigate media murders, Crispin said. He also said Pavia's advice also helped guide CPJ's 2009 research into:

  • the role of witnesses in Philippine trials where there is seldom any forensic evidence;
  • the role of witness testimony in a successful prosecution, and
  • the need for better witness protection in combating impunity. Crispin said Pavia's death follows that of senior state prosecutor Leo Dacera, who had also worked to bring to justice those accused of the murders of journalists in the Philippines. - VVP, GMA News
  • Tags: press, media, joepavia
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