NUJP happy but wary over zero work-related media killings
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) welcomed on Tuesday the report that for the first time in two decades, no journalist was slain over work-related matters in 2024 as it also called for the quicker resolution of media killings.
“As we acknowledge the absence of work-related media killings, we hope that this sets the bar for coming years,” the NUJP said in a statement. “We hope as well that this will mean a quicker resolution to pending cases of media killings from previous years.”
According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists released on Feb. 12, “the Philippines marked its first year in two decades without a journalist killing.”
But at the same time, the NUJP noted that Ma. Vilma Rodriguez, an anchor for the radio program “Barangay Action Center” by 105.9 EMedia, was killed in Zamboanga City in October 2024.
While her death was ruled by investigators as not work-related, the NUJP said it was “no less tragic” and that it “presumes each attack on a media worker to be work-related pending the results of official investigations.”
Other forms of attack
The group also pointed out that journalist killings, though worthy of condemnation, were only one aspect of media safety. It said that attacks on the press also come in other forms, such as the filing of charges against journalists.
The NUJP cited the case of Deo Montesclaros, a freelance journalist from Cagayan province who is facing a terrorism financing complaint filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police.
“As the community marks this admittedly remarkable development, let us resist the tendency to think that we are already safe and free,” the NUJP said.
“While no longer as sharply felt in the capital as it was in the Duterte administration, attempts to silence and intimidate the press remain and require our vigilance and resistance,” it added.
