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National Press Club condemns murder of tabloid reporter
(Updated 5:28 p.m.) The National Press Club of the Philippines on Sunday condemned "in the strongest possible words" the shooting of Remate reporter Robelita Garcia in Bacoor, Cavite, adding government inaction has made the country more dangerous for journalists.
NPC said Garcia was shot by the three armed men outside her house in Barangay Talaba 2 in Bacoor Sunday morning. She was brought to a hospital in the city but died Sunday afternoon.
"Today’s incident is just the latest in the series of violent attacks against journalists since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010, vowing to put an end to the ‘culture of impunity’ whose most frequent victims are members of the press," the NPC, of which Garcia was a member, said.
The group pointed out that Garcia was shot in Bacoor, which is adjacent to Metro Manila, and that her house is near a local police station.
According to Bacoor police, an investigation to identify and apprehend Garcia's killers is ongoing.
"With the Aquino government’s continued indifference to the NPC’s repeated pleas for an end to media killings and the creation of a special task force whose sole purpose is to bring their attackers and the brains behind these attacks to the bar of justice, enemies of press freedom are getting bolder each day," NPC said.
It said government inaction has "resulted in a situation wherein there is no more safe place for Filipino journalists in the provinces, in Metro Manila and even in the supposed ‘safety’ of their homes."
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, meanwhile, demanded "that authorities identify and arrest the killers and put all those responsible behind bars."
If Garcia was killed because of her work as a journalist, she would be the 160th to die since 1986. "Again and again, we have been saying that one murder is too many," NUJP director Sonny Fernandez told GMA News Online in a text message.
In November, media and human rights groups branded President Benigno Aquino III the "Impunity King" for seemingly doing little to solve media killings and prevent further attacks on members of the press. The Palace said then that the tag was unfair and baseless.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. said then that the number of media killings under the Aquino administration—19 as of November 2013 with Garcia's potentially the 20th if found to be work-related—may have been inaccurate.
"We take exception to that number. Unang-una, marami doon sa naiulat na media-related killings, hindi naman na-validate na sila ay mga media practitioners o bona fide media practitioners," he said.
The Palace also said the Philippine National Police and the Justice department have been working to solve the killings and to prosecute those involved.
NUJP said on Sunday, however, said that Garcia's death "shows that government's pronouncements on eliminating the culture of impunity surrounding the killings of journalists, lawyers, environmentalists and activists among others, have been nothing but lip service."
— JDS, GMA News
NPC said Garcia was shot by the three armed men outside her house in Barangay Talaba 2 in Bacoor Sunday morning. She was brought to a hospital in the city but died Sunday afternoon.
"Today’s incident is just the latest in the series of violent attacks against journalists since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010, vowing to put an end to the ‘culture of impunity’ whose most frequent victims are members of the press," the NPC, of which Garcia was a member, said.
The group pointed out that Garcia was shot in Bacoor, which is adjacent to Metro Manila, and that her house is near a local police station.
According to Bacoor police, an investigation to identify and apprehend Garcia's killers is ongoing.
"With the Aquino government’s continued indifference to the NPC’s repeated pleas for an end to media killings and the creation of a special task force whose sole purpose is to bring their attackers and the brains behind these attacks to the bar of justice, enemies of press freedom are getting bolder each day," NPC said.
It said government inaction has "resulted in a situation wherein there is no more safe place for Filipino journalists in the provinces, in Metro Manila and even in the supposed ‘safety’ of their homes."
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, meanwhile, demanded "that authorities identify and arrest the killers and put all those responsible behind bars."
If Garcia was killed because of her work as a journalist, she would be the 160th to die since 1986. "Again and again, we have been saying that one murder is too many," NUJP director Sonny Fernandez told GMA News Online in a text message.
In November, media and human rights groups branded President Benigno Aquino III the "Impunity King" for seemingly doing little to solve media killings and prevent further attacks on members of the press. The Palace said then that the tag was unfair and baseless.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. said then that the number of media killings under the Aquino administration—19 as of November 2013 with Garcia's potentially the 20th if found to be work-related—may have been inaccurate.
"We take exception to that number. Unang-una, marami doon sa naiulat na media-related killings, hindi naman na-validate na sila ay mga media practitioners o bona fide media practitioners," he said.
The Palace also said the Philippine National Police and the Justice department have been working to solve the killings and to prosecute those involved.
NUJP said on Sunday, however, said that Garcia's death "shows that government's pronouncements on eliminating the culture of impunity surrounding the killings of journalists, lawyers, environmentalists and activists among others, have been nothing but lip service."
— JDS, GMA News
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