Justice for all victims of human rights violations! End the culture of impunity now!

Press Statement of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP Leyte Chapter)
November 10, 2011

We call on all freedom loving Filipinos, especially those in the media, to now mark our protest and cry for justice. The impunity with which human rights and press freedom are violated has pushed us over the edge. The loud call outside the newsroom and below the ivory tower of our profession compels us to bring the texts of our pens and voices out to the streets and join the people’s collective writing of a just history.

November 23, 2011 will mark the second year of the notorious Maguindanao massacre. Free expression groups and media organizations from around the world will hold the first International Day to End Impunity on that same day. It is a global call to demand justice for those that have been persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Despite the passage of two years, the grind of justice for the 58 civilians, including 32 journalists, remains snail-paced. Along with this are a series of press freedom violations and unwanted killings against our colleagues. The Philippines has been notorious for its poor record in solving the killings of journalists. According to the Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility, 121 journalists have been killed since 1986. Only eight of these cases are solved. With this, we could only fittingly respond with a ripple of dissent against this climate of impunity prevalent in the Philippine system.

We in the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) reiterate our call for justice to the victims of the barbaric Maguindanao massacre. In time for its second year anniversary, the NUJP reaffirms its commitment in the fight against all forms of press freedom violations, human rights abuses and the culture of impunity where perpetrators are not held culpable for their crimes.

In Leyte alone, we have been also alarmed with the stringed and systemic human rights violations. We have witnessed the cases of Palo and the Kananga 3 massacres including all other forms of human rights violations unaccounted for until now despite the glaring evidences pointing to no less than alleged state officials or their supporters who are supposed to protect the people. We attribute these unresolved cases of HRVs to the thriving culture of impunity. Here, we believe that journalists could play a big role in shattering this impunity....

In the upcoming days, we will march together with human rights advocates, people’s organizations, church workers, students and other sectors in the clamor for justice and social transformation. We demand for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) which will guarantee that the right to information and freedom of expression is observed. We believe that it is only when people’s rights and civil liberties are prioritized that a government fulfills its social contract with the people.

Tirelessly, the NUJP commits for a liberated media and a society where the inherent rights of the people are genuinely respected. Value the sanctity of human life and freedom.