THE National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) is again appealing to the government to give priority to the continued attacks against media practitioners in the country that has so far resulted in the death of at least 18 journalists since Pres. Benigno Aquino 3rd became president three years ago.
To date, two more incidents of violence against the members of the press came to the attention of the NPC.
Early in the morning of August 24, 2013, entertainment editor and NPC regular member, Joselito ‘Joey’ Sarmiento, was punched, strangled, slapped and threatened with death by three men headed by Mr. Neil Arce, boyfriend of starlet, Bella Padilla, inside Mr. Arce’s house at 101 Selecta Drive, Bgy. Balingasa, Quezon City.
Sarmiento went to the house for an interview with Bella’s uncle, Robin Padilla, who was at the time, shooting a film being produced by Mr. Arce.
What the NPC find most galling over this attack was that Sarmiento was manhandled by Mr. Arce and his cohorts over a series of alleged “negative” stories he wrote MORE THAN THREE YEARS AGO.
This incident, needless to say, showed that the culture of impunity by persons with money and influence remains prevalent up to now with the members of the press at the receiving end and which the Aquino administration has failed to address in the past three years.
The other incident involved the reckless raid made by members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) of the Iloilo City Police Office, at the radio station of DYOK-Aksyon Radyo Iloilo, which is the provincial radio station of Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC/DZRH) early in the morning of August 26, hours before the nationwide “Million March Against Corruption.”
The NPC finds it appalling that the entire radio station staff, to include its news reporters, anchors, officials and even the security guards ended up being the “suspects” in the police “hot pursuit operation” against possible suspects in a previous shooting incident near the area.
The wholesale violation of the victims’ human rights by the Iloilo SWAT unit– the forcible search of the premises without a warrant, pointing assault weapons at those inside the station and forcing them to undress, the beating up of a security guard, among others– was ridiculous because, according to the MBC, it was their radio station that reported to the police about the shooting incident.
To reiterate: there are already 18 dead media practitioners under the present regime—three were killed only last month in a span of 48 hours– while incidents of violence against media practitioners all over the country continued with impunity.
While the authorities say that “measures”— whatever they may be— are “being done” to address this issue, they are clearly not enough or wholly ineffective.
The Club holds the entire government of Pres. Aquino responsible over the prevailing climate of fear surrounding the practice of journalism in the country.
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