The UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (NatCom) and AIJC, in partnership with the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC), Philippines Communication Society (PCS), and Probe Productions, recently conducted two Regional Forums on a Multidisciplinary Inquiry on the Culture of Impunity in the Killing of Filipino Journalists.

The forums were held on September 28 at St. Theresa’s College-Cebu, Cebu City, with STC-Cebu as local partner, and on October 12 at the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, General Santos City with local partners Notre Dame of Dadiangas University and NDDU Business Resource Center Foundation.

These regional forums are part of a series of discussions which started with a roundtable discussion (RTD) on the same topic held last September 2009 in Greenhills, San Juan City.

The series aims to develop and fine-tune a research framework for the multidisciplinary inquiry on the problem of impunity in journalist killings, through a participatory process involving various stakeholders such as media practitioners, teachers of journalism and communication, and social scientists. The proposed research project, which is included in the Philippines-UNESCO Country Program Document, 2009-2011, has been submitted to UNESCO for funding.

The multidisciplinary research will help build a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the problem of impunity, and propose appropriate policies, programs and structures to address the problem.

In Cebu, Dr. Clarita R. Carlos, University of the Philippines-Diliman political science professor, who also participated in the September 2009 RTD, presented her paper “Journalists: The Fulcrum of Democratic Governance”.  STC-Cebu Dean, Dr. Ma. Cecilia G. Conaco,  spoke on “The Culture of Impunity in the Killing of Filipino Journalists: The Social Psychologist’s Perspective”.

In General Santos, local social scientist and Notre Dame professor, Dr. Nestor Pabiona Blace, presented his paper “Addressing the Culture of Violence from the Sociological Perspective.”
Participants in both forums also included students of mass communication, psychology and political science.

Participants in Cebu City represented six local colleges and universities, four national and local newspapers, two radio stations, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), Peace and Conflict Journalism Network (PECOJON), and Cebu Citizens-Press Council.

In General Santos City, participants represented four local colleges and universities, four national and local newspapers, eight  radio stations, KBP, and the City Public Information Office.

Moderator in the two forums was Dr. Crispin C. Maslog, Senior Consultant and former Executive Vice President of AIJC. AIJC Director for Research and Consultancy Ann Lourdes C. Lopez presented the Forum Overview. Another project partner, Probe Productions, provided video documentation.

A third forum is being planned before the year ends.