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JOURNALIST KILLED, DAUGHTERS SURVIVE ATTACK

A journalist driving home with his two daughters was shot dead in the town of Sariaya in Quezon province, about 100 kilometres southeast of Manila, report the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other IFEX members.

Robert "Bert" Sison was shot in his car by two gunmen on a motorcycle on 30 June. His daughter Liwayway, 30, was wounded in the arm, while his younger daughter Amirah, 24, escaped unharmed by pretending to be dead, reports CPJ.

According to local news reports, the car was "peppered" with bullets. "Clearly, the suspects were very angry at Sison," a Quezon province police officer told Manila newspaper the "Philippine Daily Inquirer".

Sison and his daughters were reporters for the "Regional Bulletin", a weekly paper that often publishes articles on crime and critical stories of local officials. Sison was also a broadcaster at a local radio station.

According to CMFR, Sison is the second journalist killed in the Philippines this year. Thirty-four media professionals have been killed in the line of duty since Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became president in 2001, says CMFR.

CPJ says the Philippines ranks among the deadliest nations for journalists - and the current administration has been accused of being one of the worst at solving the cases of journalists' murders, with more than 90 percent unsolved. CPJ has partnered with local press groups in the Philippines in its Global Campaign Against Impunity. Read more about the campaign here: http://www.cpj.org/impunity

Visit these links:
- CMFR: http://www.cmfr.com.ph/_alerts/2008/jul_03.html
- CPJ: http://tinyurl.com/6qew4g
- International Federation of Journalists: http://tinyurl.com/6cb5r5
- National Union of Journalists of the Philippines: http://www.nujp.org/
(9 July 2008)