On the 40th day of the Ampatuan massacre which left at least 57 persons dead, including at least 30 journalists and media workers, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) announced the creation of the JUSTICE FUND.
The FUND seeks to raise the necessary finances that will help address the needs of the families of the victims of the massacre including a trauma counseling program, the implementation of a training program for the local media community and supporting the legal and advocacy efforts to seek justice for the victims.
Nestor Burgos Jr., NUJP chair, said that through the FUND, individuals and groups that wish to help can send their donations which will be deposited in an account to be opened specifically for this purpose.
The activities that the FUND will support will be posted on the NUJP website and will be regularly audited by an external auditor, the results of which will also be published and reported to the donors.
NUJP identified five target areas for the JUSTICE FUND: a trauma counseling program for the families and members of local media community; enhancement of the capabilities of media practitioners in Mindanao through a series of training on risk awareness and safety, election reporting, and reporting on culturally and politically sensitive places such as Mindanao; litigation support; public awareness campaigns; and the documentation of other incidents of harassment and attacks on the press in Mindanao.
The JUSTICE FUND also aims to build solidarity between media and the public, and to deepen public understanding of factors that led to the massacre.
“The JUSTICE FUND seeks to build awareness not just on what happened in Ampatuan, Maguindanao on November 23, 2009 but on the system that breeds corruption, warlordism and political patronage which paved the way to the carnage.
The JUSTICE FUND also aspires to encourage a Press that is critical and ethical, zealous of its rights and responsibilities,”.
PHILIP JAMES MONGAYA TREMEDAL
CALL OR TEXT ME : 0929-589-6390
OR E-MAIL ME : pjtremedal@gmail.com
visit my website: www.pag-enews.tk
No comments:
Post a Comment