Intl press group seeks firmer measures vs media killings

An international media group on Thursday pushed for firmer measures by the Aquino administration against media killings, following the murder of a radioman in Bicol earlier this week. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres/RSF) said the killing of Romeo Olea was another "tragic example" of the "complete lack of security" for Philippine media workers. "The authorities cannot continue to ignore the dangers to which the country’s courageous journalists are exposed. After the Maguindanao massacre, in which 32 journalists were killed, President (Benigno III) Aquino’s government gave a few signs of trying harder to combat impunity. Nonetheless, it must take firmer measures to put a stop to contract killings and, in particular, to protect the journalists it knows be under threat," it said in a statement on its website. It also extended its condolences to Olea’s family and friends, adding the murder showed the "super body" that the Department of Justice created last year to reinforce efforts to combat violence against journalists "has been insufficient." Olea, 49, was gunned down before dawn Monday as he was driving by motorcycle to radio station dwEB, where he worked as a program host. The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines said Olea was the fourth journalist murdered this year and the fifth since President Benigno Aquino III assumed office promising to protect human rights and bring good governance. Olea was the 145th journalist murdered since 1986. The RSF noted that none of the stories he had covered has so far been linked to his murder. But it said Olea was the second dwEB journalist to be killed after Miguel Belen died days after being shot as he was returning to his home in Iriga City on July 9, 2010. "Using a similar modus operandi, two men on a motorcycle fired at least four shots at him. He died in hospital from his injuries a few days later," RSF said of Belen’s case. It also noted that after Belen’s murder, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told National Press Club representatives that she had ordered the creation of a "super body" to deal with attacks on journalists. A special unit, called Task Force 211, was already created in 2007 with the aim of preventing and solving cases of political violence, the RSF noted. The RSF said the media freedom situation continues to be critical in the Philippines, which was ranked 156th out of 178 countries in the latest RSF press freedom index. — RSJ, GMA News