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Alert

Slain journalist had received threats; journalists' union says killings under Arroyo top those under Marcos era of martial law in the 1980s

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 21 November 2005 CPJ press release:

Two Philippine journalists shot and killed in three days

New York, November 21, 2005 - Unknown assailants shot and killed two journalists in separate incidents over a three-day period. Newspaper reporter Robert Ramos died Sunday night after being shot twice in the head outside a market in Cabuyao, Laguna province, 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of the capital, Manila. Radio announcer Ricardo "Ding" Uy, known for his leftist political activities, was killed by a gunman outside his home on Friday morning in Sorsogon City, Sorsogon province, 230 miles (375 kilometers) southeast of Manila.

The motives in the killings were unknown, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating to determine whether they were connected to the men's work as journalists.

Ramos, 39, a reporter for the weekly tabloid Katapat, was waiting for a ride home from work when two motorcycle-riding assailants shot him twice in the head, according to police reports cited in the local media. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Uy, 49, was a radio broadcaster with DZRS-AM, president of the Media Reporters Association, and the provincial coordinator of Bayan Muna (People First), a leftist political party. Uy was shot five times by an assailant who fled with an accomplice on a motorcycle, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Uy died soon after at a nearby hospital. In an interview with the ABS-CBN news Web site, Bayan Muna Deputy Secretary General Roberto de Castro said that Uy received threats before he was killed. De Castro said Uy was known as a critic of the army.

The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killings. The NUJP also criticized President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for not doing more to prevent the murders of journalists, claiming that more journalists have died in the Philippines since Arroyo took power in 2001 than during the Marcos era of martial law in the 1980s.

In May, CPJ named the Philippines the most murderous country in the world for journalists. To read the report: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2005/murderous_05/murderous_05.html.

Three months later, a CPJ investigation found that a culture of corruption, guns, and lawlessness had fueled the record-setting number of murders. To read the report: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2005/phil_05/phil_05.html

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.cpj.org.