De Venecia to donate P2 M to ‘Press Freedom Fund’

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said yesterday he would donate P2 million to the "Press Freedom Fund" in an effort to help the Philippine National Police (PNP) solve the series of murders of Filipino journalists and bring the perpetrators to justice.

"We are providing reward money, financial assistance for the prosecution of the killers, and a fund for scholarships of children of the victims," De Venecia said in a statement.

He said the bounty offer for information leading to the arrest of journalists’ murderers is crucial to solving these cases because "without vital information, all the murders will remain unsolved" and the gunmen will know they can literally get away with murder.

"We should send strong signals that we want these killings to end and we want the killers captured, prosecuted and sent to jail so that even their companions will squeal on them," he added.

De Venecia told The STAR he will formally launch the Press Freedom Fund, which was started with P200,000 of his own "seed" money, next week after meeting with leaders of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), National Press Club (NPC) the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and Samahang Plaridel. The meeting is aimed at developing strategies to reduce, if not prevent, acts of violence against journalists.

"The killings are no longer (just) a cause for national concern but have become an international embarrassment for the country as well," he said. "We should go beyond rhetoric and help provide a lasting solution in concert with working journalists."

De Venecia, along with press leaders, will also meet with President Arroyo next Tuesday or Wednesday to work out the mechanics of the fund. Initially, the fund will be jointly administered by the PNP and the various press associations.

De Venecia, who worked as a journalist with Pan Asia news agency, said he would donate P100,000 monthly from his pork barrel, adding that the fund "could be augmented from year to year."

Part of the Press Freedom Fund, he said, should also go to the "continuing college scholarship program" for the children of slain journalists. The fund should also provide financing for seminars and conferences "designed to explain the role of journalists and raise standards in the profession."

He said he would coordinate with media groups to ensure the successful implementation of the Press Freedom Fund’s reward program and the prosecution of the cases.

At least 17 media practitioners have been killed over the past 17 months, a situation that prompted the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to tag the Philippines as the "most murderous" country in the world for reporters.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes said he is not keen on the proposal that journalists be allowed to carry firearms for self-defense despite the rising number of journalist murders in the country.

Interviewed at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Reyes said any moves permitting journalists to carry firearms outside of their residences should be done on a case-to-case basis, such as when there is a verified and credible threat to a journalist’s life and the PNP has issued the journalist a permit to carry firearms outside of residence.

"They can carry firearms provided they are qualified (to do so)," Reyes said. He also said the government is doing all it can to address the problem of unsolved murders of journalists.

Reyes said he has already ordered the PNP to institute measures to protect journalists, especially hard-hitting reporters who are most at risk. "I have already instructed (PNP Director General Arturo) Lomibao to look for ways to ensure the protection of journalists."

He also said the criminals behind attacks on members of the press are the same people who perpetrate high-profile crimes: "They are one and the same group of criminals and I ordered General Lomibao to specifically go after these lawless elements."

Pressure is being brought to bear on the government by RSF and other international and local journalists’ groups, like the International Organization of Journalists (IOJ), the New York-based CPJ and the NUJP so that justice may be given to the journalists who have been killed in the line of duty and whose murder cases remain unsolved.

The pressure increased considerably after Dipolog City radio commentator Klein Cantoneros, 34, was ambushed and shot six times by unidentified assailants in front of his home last week as journalists marked World Press Freedom Day. Cantoneros died later that day of his wounds while in the hospital.

Since democracy was restored in 1986, 70 journalists have been murdered for doing their jobs. Of that figure, 20 journalists were slain over the last three years alone — 13 of whom were killed just last year.

The CPJ and NUJP blamed the "growing culture of violence" and the government’s indifference for the escalation of attacks on members of the press. These groups also pointed to the inefficiency of the country’s criminal justice system as a flaw that enables criminals to murder journalists with impunity. — With Jaime Laude