According to Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid, chair of the communication committee of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (NatCom), the discussion aimed to examine the problem of impunity in the killing of Filipino journalists from a multidisciplinary perspective with inputs from experts in the social sciences. Through an analysis of the root causes of impunity and case examples, policy options and an action agenda will be recommended to address the continued killing of journalists.
No less than UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura sounded the alarm for the increasing deaths of Filipino journalists “who have been made to pay an intolerably heavy price to exercise the basic human right of freedom of expression.” He has called on Philippine authorities to “spare no effort in bringing to justice the culprits of these crimes which undermine the rights and freedoms of all the citizens of the Philippines.”
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility reports that as of August this year, 134 Filipino journalists have been killed since 1986. Of this number, 80 are work-related. Since the start of 2009, six journalists have already been killed.
At the roundtable discussion, funded by UNESCO Regional Office Jakarta and organized by the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication and UNESCO NatCom, participants expressed willingness to take part in a research effort that would draw the framework to examine culture, history, child rearing, education, media, and even economics of Filipino society. It was recommended that the content and context of reports on the killings be analyzed and the families of victims as well as perpetrators be heard and considered in the study.
An e-group will be formed among the participants and other experts to finalize the research framework and to share papers and case studies.
AIJC president Ramon R. Tuazon served as facilitator of the roundtable discussion. Other participants represented the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (National Association of Philippine Broadcasters), Philippine Press Institute, Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Philippines Communication Society, and Philippine Association of Communication Educators. |
