Impunity vs media: Phl is 3rd worst

MANILA, Philippines – On the 20th World Press Freedom Day today, the Philippines isn’t faring well in terms of media freedom.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in its 2013 Impunity Index, ranked the Philippines the third worst country, next only to Iraq and Somalia.

Reporters Without Borders, in its 2013 Press Freedom Index, also ranked the Philippines a low 147th out of 179 countries, behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors.

The CPJ reported that despite President Aquino’s vow to reverse impunity in journalist murders, the Philippines ranked third worst worldwide for the fourth consecutive year.

Other countries cited by the CPJ in its Impunity Index included fourth ranked Sri Lanka, followed by Colombia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria and India.

The CPJ noted that the murders of 55 journalists in Maguindanao have remained unsolved since 2009. The multiple murder charges filed against several suspects in the Maguindanao massacre are still pending in court.

CPJ noted that the 2011 murder of radio broadcaster and environmentalist Gerardo Ortega reflected the “politically inspired nature” of many Philippine killings, along with “the general breakdown in the rule of law” that has allowed the killings to continue.

Ortega, a radio talk show host who exposed corruption, was shot in the back of the head while shopping in a Puerto Princesa City clothing store. Police soon made arrests and traced the murder weapon to a provincial governor’s aide. But the case suffered a severe blow in 2013 when an alleged conspirator who had turned state witness was killed in prison.

The CPJ Impunity Index Rating for the Philippines was 0.580 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants. Last year the country also ranked third with a rating of 0.589.

The CPJ said Iraq has the world’s worst record on impunity.

No convictions have been obtained in 93 journalist slayings in the past decade with 95 percent of the victims identified as local journalists.

The CPJ said Somalia, a country with a long history of media killings, recorded 2012 as the deadliest year on record for the press.

Twelve journalists were murdered in reprisal for their work in 2012 despite relative calm in the capital, Mogadishu.

With the ouster of Al-Shabaab insurgents from Mogadishu in 2011, the killings raised concern that reporters were being targeted by politically motivated antagonists.

Some 23 murders of journalists nationwide have remained unsolved over the past decade.

CPJ’s Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country’s population. For this index, CPJ examined journalist murders that occurred between Jan. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2012, and that remain unsolved. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on this index.

CPJ defines murder as a deliberate attack against a specific journalist in relation to the victim’s work. Murders make up more than 70 percent of work-related deaths among journalists, according to CPJ research.

This index does not include cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out dangerous assignments such as coverage of street protests.

Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained. Population data from the World Bank’s 2011 World Development Indicators were used in calculating each country’s rating.

Democracy good for press

The World Press Freedom Index showed that the same three European countries that headed the index last year hold the top three positions again this year.

Finland has distinguished itself as the country that most respects media freedom for the third year in a row. It is followed by the Netherlands and Norway.

Although many criteria are considered, ranging from legislation to violence against journalists, democratic countries occupy the top of the index while dictatorial countries occupy the last three positions. Again it is the same three as last year – Turkmenistan (177), North Korea (178) and Eritrea (179).

“The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

The countries that ranked higher than the Philippines included: Papua New Guinea (41), Taiwan (47), South Korea (50), Japan (53), Sierra Leone (59), Serbia (63), East Timor (90), Libya (130), Zimbabwe (133), Indonesia (139), India (140), Democratic Republic of Congo (142), Cambodia (143), Bangladesh (144), Malaysia (145), and Palestine (146).

The Philippines ranked better that other countries such as Russia (149), Singapore (149), Iraq (150), and Burma (151).

Phl rated ‘partly free’

Freedom House has rated the Philippines as a partly free country in its annual survey of political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries around the world.

The Washington-based, non-governmental organization gave the Philippines a score of 3 in both political rights and civil liberties and grouped it among 58 partly free countries, home to 1.6 billion people, or 23 percent of the world’s population.

One point represents the most free and seven the least free rating.

It was the third straight year that the Philippines retained its status as a partly free country.

Published since 1972, the report examines the ability of people to exercise their political and civil rights around the world and assigns each country a status of free, partly free or not free based on their scores in key democracy indicators.

Among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), only Indonesia was rated as a free country with 2 points for political rights and 3 for civil liberties.

Four countries were rated partly free with the Philippines at the top. The others were Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand who all had 4-4 scores.

Vietnam, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia and Laos were rated not free. –Jose Katigbak/STAR Washington Bureau (The Philippine Star)