RSF slams AFP listing of NUJP member in ‘Order of Battle’

The international journalist group Reporters Without Borders (Reporters San Frontiers or RSF) expressed alarmed over reports that a journalist and two human rights groups were on the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) “Order of Battle” list of surveillance targets in Mindanao in 2007 because of their alleged links to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.

The press freedom organization also deplores the fact that a journalist was shot and wounded – possibly by a soldier – in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay last Wednesday.

The existence of the confidential “Order of Battle” list, compiled by the Army’s 10th Infantry Division and entitled “JCICC ‘Agila’ 3rd QTR 2007 OB Validation Result,” was revealed this week by journalist Carlos Conde, who said he was leaked a copy.

Conde is on the list, as are the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and the Media Mindanao News Service.

“Death squads organized by politicians sow terror among rights activists and independent media in the southern part of Mindanao island so it is very disturbing that Conde is on this list,” RSF said. “Many political activists on such Army lists have been murdered by military or paramilitary units in recent years. We urge the government not to ignore these abuses and to put a stop to the practice of blacklisting independent journalists, rights groups and activists,” it added.

A journalist for the past 15 years, Conde is presently a correspondent for the New York Times and The International Herald Tribune. He also writes for local newspapers and news Web sites.

“Why my name is included in the Order of Battle is a mystery,” Conde said in statement circulated to the media. “Needless to say, this Order of Battle has caused anxiety and fear in my family because, as we all know, an Order of Battle in the Philippines is a veritable hit list.”

Conde said he suspected his NUJP activities were the reason for his inclusion in the AFP’s Order of Battle.

As NUJP coordinator in the southern city of Davao and NUJP secretary general from 2004 to 2006, he waged local campaigns in protest against the murders of journalists in the South.

The journalist who was shot in Zamboanga Sibugay province last Wednesday was Harrison Manalac of radio dxXE-FM. He was hit between the left shoulder and neck by a shot fired as he left the radio station in the city of Buug at about 7:45 p.m. in order to go home. He was rushed to hospital where he was successfully treated for the gunshot wound.

The gunman was not identified but Zamboanga Sibugay police chief Federico Castro said the shooting occurred shortly after soldiers were seen near the radio station.

Before the shooting, Manalac had criticized a state school teacher whose son is a solider. –Daily Tribune