18 October 2006
COLUMNIST'S MURDERERS CONVICTED, BUT MASTERMINDS STILL FREE
On 6 October 2006, a court in the city of Cebu convicted three men for the murder of journalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. The decision was welcomed by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE).
The court convicted Gerry Cabagay, Randy Grecia and Estanislao Bismanos of murder and sentenced them to "reclusion perpetua" (life in prison), reports CMFR. Another suspect, Rowie Barua, a military intelligence officer who had cooperated with the authorities, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
While welcoming the convictions, CMFR and other press freedom groups noted that the victory is incomplete until two agriculture department officials believed to be the masterminds, Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay, are also tried. After the verdict,
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales ordered a re-instatement of murder charges against Montañer and Sabay, notes CPJ. Garcia-Esperat had accused the two officials of misuse of government funds.
Garcia-Esperat, an anti-corruption campaigner and columnist for the "Midland Review," was shot in the head on 24 March 2005 in front of her two children in the city of Tacurong, Mindanao (see http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/65654).
Of the 60 journalists killed in the Philippines since 1986, there have now been convictions in four cases, says CMFR. However, in none of these cases have the
masterminds behind the killings been convicted.
Visit these links:
- CMFR: http://www.cmfr-phil.org/10-06-06esperat.htm
- SEAPA: http://www.seapabkk.org/
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/attacks05/asia05/phil_05.html
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