Noy says media killings being addressed

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino defended yesterday perceptions that his administration has done little to ensure a free press with the murder of 26 journalists since he assumed office in mid-2010, saying most of the cases have not been work-related.

During his joint press conference with US President Obama, he denied the figure raised by a reporter of Fox News who wanted to inquire how the Aquino government tried to solve the cases of 26 journalists killed during his watch.

Aquino explained there have been 62 cases that have been reported, but clarified that only 10 were found by an inter-agency committee to be legitimate cases of extrajudicial killing.

“Of the 10 cases that have been determined to be possible cases, only one happened during our watch, the case of Mr. Rodel Estrellado,” he said, noting that Estrellado’s case passed the “criteria, definitions of what constitutes an extrajudicial killing.”

Aquino also hinted that the murder of journalists in this country is not always work-related, which is why law enforcement agencies occasionally withhold some information out of concern for the victims’ families.

“If at times we do not reveal the discoveries by our intelligence agencies, perhaps we are very sensitive to personal relationships by the people who were killed not because of professional activities but shall we say other issues,” he said.

“But having said that, they were killed, that is against the law, the people will have to be found, prosecuted and sent to jail,” he warned.

At the same time, Aquino blamed – impliedly – the slow justice system in the country, citing the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre that left 58 dead, including 34 journalists, which case is now undergoing trial.

“Unfortunately, speed is not a hallmark of our current judicial system and there are various steps – laws, amendments of particular laws – even a rethink of the whole process to have tried and ensured this speedy disposition of justice,” he said.

The judicial reform he wanted instituted “is still a work in progress” where “we want to protect all of the rights of every individual but also ensure that the speedy portion of the promise also happens.”

Aquino insisted, however, that his government wanted a free press.