No End In Sight For Attacks On Journalists, Four Victims In 2008

National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Statement

It is only August and already, four journalists fell prey to the unabated attacks against media practitioners.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemns the treacherous attack on broadcaster Dennis Cuesta in General Santos City on Monday.

We pray with Cuesta's family and co-workers for his survival even as we call on authorities to act quickly and arrest the perpetrators of the attack.

Cuesta, anchorman of "Straight to the Point," a morning program on Radio Mindanao Network's dxMD in General Santos City, is fighting for his life after two motorcycle-riding men shot him with a .45 caliber pistol.

The attack on Cuesta came a little more than a month after gunmen shot and killed Quezon journalist Bert Sison and wounded his daughter, also a journalist, on June 30. Sison was the third Filipino journalist to be murdered this year.

The latest attacks, especially on media practitioners, only prove the failure of the government to fulfill its paramount obligation to protect its citizens. The government must issue an unequivocal message that it is ending the culture of impunity by putting its act together and by addressing the attacks on media.

Get the perpetrators, even more important, get the masterminds, and ensure their swift prosecution and punishment. Stop the killings and assaults. Set an example by halting any attempt to try to stifle the media.

References:Jose Torres, Jr, Chairperson
Rowena Carranza-Paraan, Secretary General
August 5, 2008