Op-Ed: Fifth in impunity | Editorial – The Philippine Star

November 2, 2017November 4, 2017 Contributor 0 Comment Op-Ed: Fifth in impunity | Editorial – The Philippine Star

Thanks to the creation of a presidential task force, the Philippines improved by a notch from last year’s ranking in the latest annual index of impunity in murdering journalists. The 2017 Global Impunity Index, drawn up by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ, ranked the Philippines fifth after the worst, Somalia, followed by Syria, Iraq and South Sudan.

The rankings are based on the number of journalist killings recorded from Sept. 1, 2007 to Aug. 31 this year. Only countries with five or more unsolved murders for the period are included in the index. There are 12 nations in the latest index, down from last year’s 13; Afghanistan was dropped because journalist killings declined in the conflict-torn country in the past year.

Due mainly to the failure to bring killers to justice, the Philippines has been in the index since it was launched by the CPJ. This year the country ranked worse than Mexico, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and India.

While describing as “progress” the creation of the presidential task force to probe media killings, the CPJ, in its report released on Oct. 31 titled “Getting Away with Murder,” noted the continuing failure to prosecute or convict suspects. Cases filed against suspects in the few murders where there have been arrests are crawling through the country’s justice system. Eight years have passed since 32 media workers were slaughtered together with 26 other people in Maguindanao. Yet none of the 197 individuals on trial for the massacre has been convicted.

Today the nation joins the world in observing the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. Thanks to the weakness of the judicial system, the Philippines is ranked among the world’s worst. The CPJ counts 42 journalists murdered in the country since 2007 in connection with their work. Many of the suspected brains behind the killings are government officials and crime rings, the CPJ noted.

In fact impunity reigns in this country not only in journalist killings but also in many other crimes, thanks to an inefficient, graft-prone justice system that is vulnerable to political manipulation. The failed system has become immune to public condemnation, guaranteeing the persistence of impunity.

ASEAN NEWSPAPER OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

7.1. – The Daily Tribune
7.2. NK stirring nuclear fears in many nations – – The Manila Bulletin

3. Still not easy – – The Manila Standard