EDITORIAL - Another slain journalist

Probers said they are looking at a “person of interest” in the murder of journalist Jesus “Jess” Malabanan. The 58-year-old reporter was watching television in his store at his home in Calbayog City, Samar last Wednesday night when two men pulled up on a motorcycle and fired shots through the store window. Malabanan was hit in the head and died later in a hospital.

Malabanan was based in Angeles City, Pampanga but made regular visits to his hometown in Samar where he maintained a farm. Some reports said he had received threats in Pampanga and planned to settle in Samar. While Malabanan had no known enemies, he had helped Reuters news agency in a story on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 87 journalists have died in work-related killings in the Philippines since 1992, when the CPJ began keeping count, with 21 murdered since mid-2016 when President Duterte assumed power. Last month, the CPJ ranked the Philippines seventh worldwide in the Impunity Index, which is based on the number of unsolved journalist killings. While the ranking is an improvement for the country, which used to be ranked among the five worst in the world, seventh place still means there is a long way to go in ending impunity in the murder of media workers.

The government has set up a task force to promote the safety of media workers. The task force has pointed out that 68 persons have been convicted for media killings, with the 51st case leading to a guilty verdict resolved this year. The CPJ, for its part, counts at least 14 unsolved murders of journalists in the Philippines.

Malacañang and the police have vowed speedy action to give justice to Malabanan. It is the only way to end impunity.