"IT'S REALLY a very clear illustration of how justice does not
work."
This was how Sheila S. Coronel, executive director of the Philippine
Center for Investigative Journalism, described the case of slain Pagadian
City-based broadcast and print journalist Edgar Damalerio, whose killing
on May 13, 2002 remains unresolved to this day.
And she may have reason to say so, as shown in the circumstances
surrounding the case, which has baffled fellow journalists and Damalerio's
survivors.
As Coronel pointed out, it was a case where witnesses have come out,
the gunman was identified, and was even placed under police custody.
But just when a warrant of arrest was issued by the judge, the suspect—a
policeman—mysteriously escaped and since then has remain at
large. Yet he reportedly continues to be seen in Pagadian City.
Organizations in the media community, including the PCIJ, are stepping
up efforts to ensure that the killing will not become just another
mark on the long-listed scorecard of journalists in the country who
have been killed because of their work.
Last May 8, five days before the first death anniversary of Damalerio's
death, the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc. (FFFJ) officially
launched a campaign that would count the number of days justice has
not been given to the slain journalist.
'Operation Countdown Edgar Damalerio'
The "Operation Countdown Edgar Damalerio" seeks
to engage the support of newspapers and radio and television programs
to give daily time and space and attention that would help speed up
the capture of PO1 Guillermo Wapille, the alleged gunman, and the
fast resolution of the case.
"Presumably and hopefully, the police authorities will be shamed
into action by the daily grind that raises the public's consciousness
over the issue," said Jose L. Pavia, executive director of Philippine
Press Institute (PPI), one of the groups behind FFFJ, during the countdown
launch held at the Club Filipino in San Juan town.
The FFFJ member-organizations include the PCIJ, the Center for Community
Journalism and Development (CCJD), Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
(CMFR), and Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, as well as individuals—Ermin
Garcia Jr., and Danilo Gozo, publishers of Sunday Punch in Dagupan,
Pangasinan and Philippine News in San Francsico, respectively.
The FFFJ was formed in January after the groups and individuals realized
the need for an organization that would raise funds to help victims
of violence against the press or those killed, harassed, or threatened
while doing their job as journalists.
Immediate Assistance and Continuing Support
The fund provides immediate assistance to the families of
journalists killed "in the line of duty," and acts as a
support group for journalists in distress through its "Quick
Response Teams." It also aims to undertake other activities that
will promote ethical and responsible journalism as a way of protecting
journalists.
At the time of his death, Damalerio, 32, was described as a hard-hitting
and award-winning radio commentator for DXKP-Pagadian, managing editor
of the Zamboanga Scribe, and host of a top-rating cable TV program
"Enkwentro (Encounter)." He was shot near the Pagadian City
Hall and police headquarters.
He was also the third journalist to be killed in Pagadian City, where
the most number of journalists have been killed in the country, the
CMFR said.
Gemma Damalerio, Edgar's widow, said her husband was killed because
of his stinging exposes on illegal gambling and graft, corruption
and other illegalactivities committed by public officials police and
military, and even media broadcasters in Pagadian City.
The gunman, whom witnesses Edgar Amoro and Edgar Ongue identified
as PO1 Guillermo Wapile, was supposed to be restricted within the
camp premises under the supervision of the Philippine National Police
provincial director Pedrito Reyes.
However, on January 30, 2003, when the Pagadian City regional trial
court ordered Wapille's arrest, Reyes reported that the police-suspect
was no longer in the camp when an inventory on camp personnel was
conducted on Jan. 28.
"It's very frustrating," said PCIJ's Coronel.
According to the CMFR database, Damalerio is the 35th journalist
killed in the line of duty since democracy was restored in the country
in 1986. Wapile's arrest and conviction would have been the first
successful prosecution of a journalist-killer since that time.
Two More Killed Since Damalerio
Three months after Damalerio's killing, another community journalist
Rhode Sonny Alcantara became number 36 on the CMFR list after he was
shot dead on August 2002. The most recent fatality was John Belen
Villanueva, 54, a radio public-service program host of dzGB-AM in
Legazpi City, Albay, who was ambushed last April 28 while he was riding
a motorcycle on him way home.
CMFR executive director Melinda Quintos de Jesus pointed out that
there have been 54 journalists killed in the Philippines because of
their work since 1961, and of these, only two have culminated in the
prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment of the perpetrators.
One such case, the killing of Ermin Garcia Sr., editor of the Sunday
Punch—and father of FFFJ member Ermin Garcia Jr.?who was shot
dead in 1966, resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of the murderer.
But the killer was granted executive pardon after serving seven years
of his prison term.
The other case resolved was that of Antonio Abad Tormis, editor and
columnist in Cebu, who was killed in 1961, and whose killer was caught,
prosecuted and sentenced, only to be pardoned later.
In a country where press freedom is enshrined and protected by the
Constitution, and that boasts of having one of the freest presses
in Asia and the world, the killing of journalists "constitutes
a scandal," said de Jesus, who also serves as FFFJ secretary.
"We hope the efforts now launched by FFFJ will stir some action
in the courts of justice and further investigations by the police,"
said de Jesus, who noted that there seems to be a pattern in that
the prosecution of the killers of journalists is not moving forward,
"for whatever reason."
Cerge Remonde, the chairman of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng
Pilipinas appealed to media practitioners to pursue the quest for
justice for Damalerio.
'The Time Has Come to Close Ranks'
"The time has come for all of us to close ranks. And deliver
the message that we will not allow killings of journalists and we
will not allow people responsible for such acts to get away,"
Remonde said.
One way journalists could help bring justice to Damalerio is through
"constant follow-up and continuity" of the stories on the
case, said de Jesus.
"Journalism," she pointed out, "constitutes not only
the breaking news but [also] the 'process' or 'pattern' or 'follow-up'
story. Just because the death occurred two months ago, [it doesn't
mean] it's no longer news."
With more and more efforts and support from the media community,
PPI's Pavia said, "We hope the countdown will be short."
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