Agence France-Presse
First Posted 03:33:00 06/22/2010
Filed Under: Media killings, Crime and Law and Justice
VIENNA—Media watchdog IPI called Monday for an end to killers' impunity in the Philippines and more action from the newly elected government, after reports of a third journalist killed in a week.
"This continued targeting of journalists is linked to the impunity that the killers enjoy in the country," IPI director David Dadge said in a statement.
"If President-elect Benigno Aquino wishes to stamp out corruption as he promised during his election, the Philippines needs a fully functioning media, a media that is not constantly under threat of attack," he added.
Gunmen shot and killed Nestor Bedolido, a 50-year-old newspaper reporter, in Digos City in Davao del Sur on June 19. He was the third journalist slain in a week, police said Sunday.
Last week, two other journalists known as outspoken critics of corrupt local officials were shot dead in separate attacks.
On June 14, broadcaster Jesiderio “Jessie†Camangyan was killed in Manay, Davao Oriental. Less than 24 hours later, radio commentator Jovelito Agustin was slain in the northern Luzon province of Ilocos Norte.
Dadge urged Aquino and the new government Monday "to tackle the issue of impunity in the murder of these journalists and those slain in recent years and prosecute those responsible."
The Philippines is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.
Last year alone, 38 journalists were killed there, according to IPI.
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