Manila Times journalist Jomar Canlas gets another death threat

Manila Times reporter Jomar Canlas, who testified in the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in the House of Representatives, turned to the police anew after receiving another death threat.

Canlas went to the Manila Police District (MPD) on Tuesday to report another text message he received on January 18.

“P****g ina mo Jomar! Dapat December pa lang wala sa mundo kaya lang pasko! Lahat nang lakad mo alam namin! Malapit ka na, magdasal ka na h***p ka!” the text message read.

A certification from the MPD General Assignment Section said that Canlas suspected the fresh threat could be related to his November testimony in the impeachment proceedings on the articles published in the newspaper regarding irregularities allegedly committed by Sereno.

Last December, Canlas also received two identical text messages apparently telling him to say his last wishes to his wife and children.

Reporters covering the justice beat then condemned the death threat against Canlas and asked authorities to probe the matter.

The Justice Reporters Organization (JUROR) said the threat against Canlas, one of its founding members, was a “direct attack on press freedom, which has no place in democracy.”

“Journalists faithfully doing their job to keep the public well-informed, especially on matters pertaining to government affairs, should never be a target of attacks and intimidation,” JUROR said.

The group also vowed not to shirk its responsibility to tell the truth about government affairs.

“To renege on our responsibility in upholding the truth at all times is to betray our social contract with the people. To stifle that responsibility in whatever manner, is a betrayal of truth itself,” JUROR said.

For its part, the Justice and Court Reporters Association (JUCRA) said intimidation and harassment of journalists should not be tolerated.

Canlas appeared last November 27 at the House justice committee where he talked about the story he had written regarding the allegation that Sereno falsified a court resolution in 2013. 

During the hearing, Canlas denied he told impeachment complainant and lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon that Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita de Castro was the source of information that Sereno allegedly tampered with the temporary restraining order (TRO) in connection with the petition filed by Senior Citizens party-list.

Two days later, De Castro confirmed to the committee that she contested the TRO issued by Sereno on behalf of the SC on May 29, 2013, accusing the top magistrate of omitting her recommendation to stop the disqualification of the Senior Citizens party-list only, and not the party-list proclamation itself.

De Castro had also denied giving any information to Canlas, who declined to disclose to lawmakers his sources, invoking Republic Act (RA) 53, as amended by RA 1477, also known as the Shield Law or Sotto Law. — RSJ, GMA News