Benedict Maravilla

The Philippines is still among the top countries in the world with a soaring number of journalist killings that remain unpenalized by law.

Photo Courtesy of  Noel Celis/Lisa Marie David.

In a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the country ranked 9th in the global impunity index for journalist killings, making it appear in the list for 17 years now since 2008.

The Philippines has 18 unsolved journalist murder cases according to their data. It ranked behind Mexico at 8th; Haiti topped the list for this year.

“The Philippines, also on the index every year since 2008 and frequently in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot, has logged an unsolved murder of a journalist almost every year since 1992,” the report stated.

CPJ also cited media-related killings in the country that have since been sought justice for.

“Full justice remains elusive for the 32 reporters and media workers killed in the Maguindanao massacre 15 years ago – one of the deadliest attacks on the press – as well as journalists like Gerry Ortega, a radio broadcaster killed in 2011,” they explained.

CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said that the impunity towards the killings of journalists is proof of the crime being considered acceptable and that those who continue reporting may also face a similar fate.

“Murder is the ultimate weapon to silence journalists,” Ginsberg said.

He also called for accountability towards the “normalization” of the said killings in the countries listed in the index, saying that the impunity cases “do not exist in a vacuum”.

“The lack of accountability creates news deserts that stifle the voices of local people, making it easy for officials to ignore them, and creating fertile ground for corruption and wrongdoing to flourish,” Ginsberg added.

Since 1992, CPJ has recorded a total of 159 journalists and media workers that were killed in the Philippines.