Murder of A Colleague

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell toll; it tolls for thee”--JOHN DONNEBy ALEX P. VIDAL We, media practitioners, are being killed one by one. In five months this year, five of our colleagues in the print and broadcast have been murdered in cold blood. Who’s next? The enemies of press are becoming bolder and bolder and it seems they are unfazed by the massive protests initiated recently by several cause-oriented groups and media organizations all over the country denouncing the culture of impunity.It’s sad that so many public officials, the police and military included, still don’t understand our role in a democratic society. They get pissed off and take the issues related to their jobs personally in a slightest criticism. In retaliation, some of them become homicidal maniacs and use extreme force to silence their media critics. Hence, we have become endangered species. We get killed and maimed because of the nature of our job which is adversarial by nature. In line of duty, many of us are eliminated like animals; the killers have no respect whatsoever to our rights as human beings.To compound the matter, we get little support, or, sometimes none at all, from government which has been showing some leniency amid the murderous binge of forces oppose to freedom of the press. They have no mercy on us. We are like sitting ducks, ready to be shot by an assassin's bullet anytime, even in broad daylight. Below is the media release of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) which mourns the murder of our fifth colleague this year:“The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned over the escalating pattern of violence against journalists in the Philippines following the murder of the fifth journalist there this year. “According to the IFJ affiliate, the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), Philip Agustin, publisher and editor of the Starline Times Recorder was shot shortly before midnight on Tuesday,10 May 2005 inside his home in Dingalan, in Aurora province."Agustin's death follows an all too familiar and sickening pattern - an outspoken journalist silenced after speaking out against corruption in high places," said IFJ President Christopher Warren.“Just over a week ago, on 4 May, radio journalist, Klein Cantoneros, was killed after a drive-by shooting in Dipolog City, Mindanao. Agustin was shot in the head in his kitchen while his daughter was preparing the family meal after returning home from Cabanatuan City with 500 copies of his newspaper.“According to Agustin's family, he had received death threats since the week before connected to an article in an issue of his newspaper on reports of corruption allegations in Dingalan featuring Dingalan Mayor, Jaime Ylarde. “In an interview on GMA-7 television, Ylarde denied all allegations of his connection to Agustin's killing and has pledged he would expedite the murder investigation, if only to clear his name. The IFJ is calling on the Philippines police to launch a full and thorough investigation into the Agustin killing and bring those responsible to justice. “Agustin is the fifth journalist to be killed in the Philippines during 2005, following the deaths of 13 journalists in 2004 and the 68th since 1986."The practically state sanctioned violence in the Philippines isgiving the country one of the worst records for journalists' safety inthe world," said Warren.
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