Philippines

2009

  
Andal Ampatuan Jr., a defendant in the killings, is taken to court in Manila. (Reuters/Roi Azure)

Maguindanao mourning period ends, and long road begins

January 1 marks the 40th day after the brutal killings of 57 people, including 31 journalists and media workers, in the Philippine province of Maguindanao. In the Philippine tradition, the day will be considered the “end of mourning.” But the pursuit of a just and thorough prosecution is only beginning, noted CPJ board member Sheila Coronel,…

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Reason to doubt there will be justice in Maguindanao

On Thursday, CPJ’s Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin posted an entry—“Cries for justice in the Philippines massacre”—on the international mission he was part of in the Philippines this week. The team was following up in the aftermath of the November 23 massacre that killed at least 30 journalists and media workers in Ampatuan, in Maguindanao province, in the southern Philippines.

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Journalists march in Manila. (AP/Bullit Marquez)

Cries for justice in the Philippines massacre

Mobilized and clad in black, a group of Philippine journalists symbolically laid down their notebooks, microphones, and cameras in the street to observe a moment of silence outside Malacañang Palace, the seat of national government in the Philippines.

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CPJ

Philippine groups move quickly to investigate massacre

Four groups in the Philippines released what appears to be the most authoritative account on the murder of 57 people on November 23 in Ampatuan, in Maguindanao province, in the Philippines’ southernmost main island, Mindanao. The report puts the death toll for journalists at 30, with a few others classified as media workers—drivers and other support staff. Some bodies are…

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Philippine massacre among worst for journalists

The toll in the brutal, election-related killings in Maguindanao province, Philippines, was still being determined tonight. Several journalists were believed to be among the dead, making the massacre one of the deadliest single events for the press in memory. Here are some other deadly episodes as recorded by CPJ:

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CPJ
Natalya Estemirova (AP)

A memorial to killed journalists, a call to action

We’ve launched a new section of our Web site, and we hope you take a few minutes to read some of its pages. There is one, for example, on Russian reporter Natalya Estemirova, who dared to examine human rights crimes in Chechnya. Another is devoted to Francisco Javier Ortiz Franco, a Tijuana newspaper editor who…

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Philippine murder case granted change of venue

A Supreme Court decision to allow a change of venue in the trial of three suspects accused of murdering journalist Dennis Cuesta, at left, in August 2008 sets a hopeful precedent in the fight against impunity in media killings in the Philippines. The decision was granted in mid-July and press freedom groups tracking the case…

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Witness protection key in Philippine journalist murders

This week, CPJ’s Shawn W. Crispin examined the incredible risks and challenges confronting witnesses to journalist murders in the Philippines. Crispin’s report, “Under Oath, Under Threat,” featured Bob Flores, a man who has demonstrated extraordinary courage in identifying a gunman in the slaying of radio journalist Dennis Cuesta. Crispin and I had met Flores earlier…

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A call for justice in the Philippines

The shooting death last year of Radio Mindanao Network broadcaster Dennis Cuesta raised the realization among journalists here that the profession we know and love could cost us life and limb. 

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Garcia-Esperat murder case moves forward

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility reports today that a Philippine court has denied a motion to dismiss murder charges against two government officials accused of ordering the 2005 murder of journalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat.

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2009