STATEMENT OF FILIPINO JOURNALISTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Filipino journalists in the US capital and other American cities today condemned the slaughter of dozens of people – including about a dozen journalists – in Maguindanao.
They demanded the government take all steps necessary to capture, dead or alive, those responsible for the massacre.
“The Philippine government must act swiftly and decisively to bring all the perpetrators to justice, irrespective of their positions or political affiliations,” they said in a statement.
The statement was signed by, among others, Lito Katigbak, Philippine Star and Manila Mail; Cristina DC Pastor, Managing Editor of Philippine News; Bing Branigin, Manila Mail; Rodney Jaleco, ABS-CBN News (Washington DC) and Pinoy Herald; Jun Medina, Manila Times; Lenn Almadin-Thornhill and Monette Rivera, ABS-CBN News (New York); Rita Gerona-Adkins, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine News and Asian Fortune; and Mary Estacion, ABS-CBN News (Baltimore).
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders noted “Never in the history of journalism have the news media suffered such a heavy loss of life in one day.”
The US-based journalists noted the killings could not have come at a worst possible time since the US Congress is examining whether to cut military aid to the Philippines because of serious human rights violations, including the killing of journalists.
They expressed solidarity with their brethren in the Philippines, especially those working in Mindanao.
“We convey to them our message of sympathy and unity during this dark period in Philippine journalism,” their statement read.
“As journalists here in the United States, we feel that we too are victims of this senseless violence,” they said.
(From Rodney Jaleco)
