DOJ to Host Media Dialogue

By PJTremedal

Cagayan de Oro City – The Department of Justice (DOJ) in cooperation with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and the National Press Club(NPC) will host a media dialogue on June 19 at Cagayan de Oro City.

Said dialogue will focus on Media and political killings, media harassment and the responsibilities of Task Force 211 created to give justice to victims.

TF 211 was created by the Arroyo Government to help, support and give justice to victims in need, created thru an executive order signed by her, Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

It may be recalled that on her incumbency media killings in this part of Asia, The Philippines find its place as the number one killing zone for media practitioners’.

“The serial killings of journalists, including those street demonstrators throughout the country nowadays posed a big threat to Philippine’s Freedom of Expression. The government, as I see it, appears to be inutile, if not disinterested at all, in solving these killings of the journalists, considered members of Fourth State. Though this media killings, threats of violence and intimidation, nor any other form of illegal interference cannot stop us from our moral and social duty, this still remains the greatest threat to press freedom in the country.” Ricky Bautista of Samar news said.

“While President Arroyo has established task forces dedicated to solving journalists’ murders—and last week even created dedicated police tracker teams to find suspects that have eluded arrest warrants—the statistical reality is that no journalists’ murders have received full justice since the Impunity Campaign was launched or when her myriad task forces were formed,” said CPJ southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin.

The Philippines has the highest rank among countries that are considered “peacetime democracies.” It has a higher number of journalists killed compared to other countries with deteriorating security situation like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As of this writing, CPJ marked 24 unsolved media killings in the country.

Meantime, A victim from a caliber 45. bullets himself, Joe Pantoja of Cagayan de Oro City said that the dialogue between the Justice department together with different media individuals all over region 10 and region 9 will talk on issues and solutions to stop this media killings and harassment once and for all.

Mr. Pantoja is now working with TF 211 as Project Coordinator for Northern Mindanao.

On the said dialogue, media practitioner from Cagayan de Oro, Pagadian, Iligan, Ozamis, Oroquieta, Bukidnon, Surigao, Gingoog cities will attend who in one time some of this practitioners’ are colleagues of Jun Jalapit, Edgar Damalerio, Ernie Rollin, and others who were victims of media killings.

PHILIP JAMES MONGAYA TREMEDAL
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