H.E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President
Office of the President
New Executive Bldg, Malacańang Palace Compound
J.P. Laurel Street, San Miguel, Metro Manila
Philippines
Fax: (+632) 735 80 06
Vienna, 5 August 2004
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, strongly condemns the murder of a radio journalist in Batangas province, the second journalist to be murdered in the Philippines in five days.
IPI is informed that Arnel Manalo, a correspondent for DZRH radio and the Manila tabloid Bulgar, was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen on 5 August near the town of Bauan, approximately 80 kilometres south of Manila, shortly after dropping off his children at school. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. The motive for the killing was not immediately known.
According to IPI’s statistics, over 40 journalists have been murdered in the Philippines since democracy was restored in 1986, with not one case solved, making the country one of the most dangerous in the world for media professionals. Most of these journalists were killed because of their reporting on corruption. Last year, seven journalists were killed in the Philippines. In addition to Manalo, at least four other journalists have been killed in 2004.
Rowell Endrinal, a journalist for the radio station DZRC in Legazpi City, was shot dead on 11 February by two gunmen outside his home south of Manila. Endrinal was known for his exposés on corruption and criminal gangs.
Isabelo Maghoyo, a radio announcer for the dxID radio station, was killed by an unknown assassin on 23 February as he was about to leave his house in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur province.
Eliseo “Ely” Binoya, a commentator for Radyo Natin, was killed by unidentified gunmen on 17 June outside the port city of General Santos on Mindanao Island. Binoya was travelling home from work when two men on a motorcycle shot him in the back three times. Local journalists said that the murder was possibly tied to Binoya’s radio commentaries and that he had allegedly received several death threats.
Roger Mariano, a journalist for DZJC Radyo Aksyon in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte province, was shot several times in the back and head by unknown gunmen on 31 July as he headed home shortly after leaving the station. Mariano’s investigative programme, “Roger Mariano in Action,” was known for its reports on local corruption and various criminal activities.
IPI urges Your Excellency to ensure that there is a thorough investigation into all of these murders and that those responsible are brought to justice. We further urge the Philippine government to take all possible steps to stop the killing of journalists and the alarming impunity that accompanies these crimes.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
