GMA vows transparency in use of Press Freedom fund

President Arroyo ordered officials to exercise strict accountability over the disbursement of the P5-million Press Freedom Fund intended for the families of murdered Filipino journalists.

"The Philippine National Police (PNP) will be accountable for the P3 million while the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) will be accountable for the P2 million," Mrs. Arroyo said.

The President made the statement as she congratulated the PNP for the arrest of the principal suspect in the killing of Rowell Endrinal, a broadcaster and president of a media group in Legazpi City.

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao presented Clarito Arizobal Jr., the prime suspect in the murder of Endrinal on Feb. 11, 2004 outside the Dynamic Computer Central building in the city.

Endrinal was the president of the Print Reporters and News Stringers Association (PRENSA).

Arizobal was named among the "Most Wanted" in the Bicol Region where the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had put up P250,000 in reward money for his capture.

Mrs. Arroyo pointed out the government put up a P5 million Press Freedom Fund to bolster the campaign against attacks on journalists.

Of the total amount, P3 million came from the Office of the President, while Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. put up the balance of P2 million.

Mrs. Arroyo said the fund will support a "quick reaction team" that will immediately address finances needed against attacks on journalists, as well as bolster a witness protection program and encourage informants to disclose the whereabouts of suspects and aid in their prosecution.

"I hope the citizenry and the media will also help us turn around the culture of violence because it’s also for the protection of your homes as well as the protection of the Filipino people," she added.

The NUJP said the fund is a step forward but is not a solution to the rash of killings of journalists.

Even as the PNP agreed to allow journalists to carry firearms for their protection, the NUJP noted this would not solve the problem.

Since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986, a total of 68 journalists have been killed — 23 of them in the past three years alone, the NUJP said.