Phl in '5 deadliest countries for media'

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -  The Philippines remains on the list of  “5 Deadliest Countries for Media” in 2013.

Paris-based press freedom watchdog Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders) in its annual roundup released Wednesday said Syria, Somalia and Pakistan, respectively, remained the three most dangerous countries for journalists.

India came in fourth, and the Philippines, fifth.

India and the Philippines, RSF said, replaced Mexico and Brazil, although the number of journalists killed in Brazil (five) was the same as last year.  Two journalists were killed in Mexico, while three others disappeared.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines in November said  the country has maintained its tag as “3rd Worst Country For Working Journalists” by the New York-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Since President  Benigno Aquino III assumed office in 2010, 19 journalists were killed.  Eighty journalists were  killed during the  Arroyo administration; six under Estrada's; 11 under Ramos'; and 21 under Cory Aquino.

The RSF Annual Index said the regions with the largest numbers of journalists killed in connection with their work were Asia (with 24) and the Middle East and North Africa (with 23).   The number of journalists killed in sub-Saharan Africa fell sharply, from 21 in 2012 to 10 in 2013 – due to the fall in the number of deaths in Somalia (from 18 in 2012 to seven in 2013). Latin America saw a slight fall (from 15 in 2012 to 12 in 2013), the index noted.

At least 39 percent of the deaths (of journalists) occurred in conflicts zones, defined as Syria, Somalia, Mali, the Indian province of Chhattisgarh, the Pakistani province of Balochistan and the Russian republic of Dagestan.   The other journalists were killed in bombings, by armed groups linked to organized crime (including drug trafficking), by Islamist militias, by police or other security forces, or on the orders of corrupt officials, the report said.

Of the 71 journalists killed in 2013, 37 percent worked for the print media, 30 percent for radio stations, 30 percent for TV and three percent for news websites. The overwhelming majority of the victims (96 percent) were men. - Artemio A. Dumlao