Philippines President Gloria Arroyo has announced the creation of a $5 million Press Freedom Fund to solve the murders of Filipino journalists, which have continued to occur at an alarming rate, due to corrupt local government officials and organized crime.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has called the Philippines the "most dangerous" country in the world for those working in the media, noting there have been 18 killings of reporters since January 2000. The Philippines even surpassed war-torn Iraq, drug cartel-ravaged Colombia, Russia and Bangladesh.

Philip Agustin, the publisher-editor of a community newspaper in northeastern Luzon, was shot dead last week at his house — making him the fifth Filipino journalist to be killed this year. At least four other journalists have survived attacks. Mrs. Arroyo said the fund would be used to buy information to apprehend killers of reporters, protect witnesses to ensure prosecution of suspects, and provide financial aid for children of slain journalists.

While (Inday, of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines) Varona thanked (the government) for "finally acknowledging the crisis that faces the media profession" in the Philippines, she said the fund is not the solution to the country’s press freedom crisis. "It is the human factor — political will — that will spell the difference," she said.

..."We hope it will continue and that the message gets to the provinces, cities and municipalities."...Varona noted that the murder of journalists and the abject condition of Philippine media "does not exist in a vacuum. What happens to our sector is a reflection of the state of the nation." She pointed out that many of the 68 journalists killed since 1986 were believed killed by powerful, rich individuals and groups involved in crime and corruption. Twenty-four people in the media were killed in the last two years and five months alone.

..Varona...added...that the only genuine deterrent is to show clear proof that murder — whether of journalists, human rights activists or advocates against illegal gambling, illegal drugs, illegal logging and corruption — does not pay.

But, Filipino blogger Manilenya (aka Casual Savant) commenting at this related Rosenblog post, suggests that the criminal activities which the killers of journalists are trying to protect DO pay better than the straight life.

You must remember that 32-37% of our national budget goes to servicing the interests of debts that were incurred during the time of Ferdinand Marcos. It was also during his term that he first promoted the concept of migrant labor.

This is the story of my country: Because we cannot invest our money in the education of our populace and the infrastrucutre projects we require, we cannot contribute to the global market except in terms of providing raw materials. Because we compete on an advantage that is easily duplicated by other nations, we must keep costs and wages low. Because we pay our people a pittance, the only choice for them is to migrate.

Today the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism estimates that we ship out 2,700 people a day. 65% of them women: domestic helpers, nannies, nurses. We fracture families to survive because our country does not have the budget to pay it's people a decent wage. We ship our best and our brightest. In Silicon Valley, 1 in 7 scientists is a Filipino. We export our wealth and guarantee poverty, which only fuels the vicious cycle that ultimately ends in blood and tears.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 16, 2005 09:50 AM

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