IFJ welcomes arrest of suspects in Aklan broadcaster's killing
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)has welcomed the arrests of two suspects in the 2001 murder of Aklan broadcaster Rolando Ureta.
In an e-mailed statement dated December 20 released by its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the IFJ said the arrests of Jessie Ticar and Amador Raz "underline why it is so important that police continue to investigate crimes against journalists in order to ensure that attackers are brought to justice and no longer pose a threat to the media and to all of society."
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries.
"The IFJ joins the NUJP in welcoming the arrests and moves by the police and the courts to pursue cases of felony against journalists. The action should send a message that perpetrators of crimes against journalists will indeed be punished in accordance with the law," said the IFJ in its statement.
Ticar surrendered to the police on December 18, announcing his surrender on air while being interviewed over radio station dyKR in Kalibo, the same station were Ureta worked as program director and anchorman before he was gunned down on January 3, 2001.
Raz was arrested November 26 in Numancia town on the strength of a warrant issued on November 21 by Judge Marietta Homena-Valencia, presiding judge of the Kalibo Regional Trial Court Branch 1.
The lone witness, Gerson Sonio, has tagged Ticar and Raz as the ones who shot Ureta dead along the national highway in Barangay Bagtu, Lezo town, Aklan, around seven kilometers west of the capital town of Kalibo.
The suspects have repeatedly denied involvement in the killing and questioned the credibility of the Sonio.
Ureta had hosted the nightly program Agong Nightwatch and was investigating the proliferation of illegal gambling and illegal drugs in the province when he was killed.
While it welcomed the recent arrests, the IFJ said Philippine authorities should exert more effort to solve the murders of other journalists in the country.
It cited a 2007 report of the IFJ-NUJP Safety office "Confronting the Perils of Journalism in the Philippines" which recorded 90 cases of murder of journalists or media workers in the Philippines over 20 years.
The report said that of the cases, only three perpetrators have been convicted and only eight cases remain active.
"The performance of the Philippines police, courts and judicial system must dramatically improve if fear-mongering and violence against journalists is to subside," said IFJ's Asia Pacific Director, Jacqueline Park.