Solon seeks mandatory insurance for journalists

At least 100 media persons have been killed in the country since 1992, making it one of the most deadly places in the world for journalists, in some years even more deadly than Somalia or Iraq. (See: CPJ: Aquino needs fresh tactics vs media killings) Rarely have the actual killers of journalists been tried and convicted, and those who order the killings have never been caught and jailed. Seeking to right this injustice, a progressive party-list representative has filed a bill in Congress making insurance coverage for journalists and media workers mandatory. Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño filed House Bill 2842 or the Journalists’ Insurance Act of 2010, which calls for additional insurance benefits for journalists and employees of media entities on field assignments. This is on top of existing insurance coverage provided by the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System. Death, disability and medical benefits Under the proposed law, minimum insurance benefits for media practitioners will include:

• A death benefit of P200,000 for all mass media practitioners and employees on field who die in the line of duty.
• A disability benefit of up to P200,000 for those who suffer total or partial disability, whether permanent or temporary, arising from any injury sustained in the performance of work.
• Reimbursement of actual medical expenses of up to P100,0000 for those hospitalized or requiring medical attention for injuries sustained on the job.

“The media entity should pay for the premium of the insurance policy and shall have the option to get the insurance company to enroll its qualified journalists and employees," said Casiño, who is himself a former journalist. These additional benefits for media practitioners and families of slain journalists will provide them temporary relief as they await the resolution of their cases, Casiño said. Last year, the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists ranked the Philippines as the most dangerous place for journalists, following the deaths of 32 media workers in the November 23, 2009 massacre in Maguindanao. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists earlier ranked the Philippines as the deadliest country for journalists in 2009. (See: Nov. 23 carnage pulls RP up in CPJ impunity index) The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines claims that 140 journalists have been killed since Corazon Aquino replaced strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, and 104 of these were killed during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The bill is currently pending before the House committee on public information.—DM/JV, GMANews.TV