Journalists’ groups mark int’l commemoration, demand justice for slain media workers

Carrying the plight and renewed calls for long-overdue justice for slain journalists in conflict zones, progressive groups staged a protest yesterday, Nov. 2, marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists at the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City.

Various progressive media and press freedom advocates gathered to honor the lives of journalists lost in the Philippines as well as those killed in the Israel-Gaza war, while calling for accountability for media workers facing harassment.

“Lahat ng ito ay hindi bago. Sa deka-dekadang pananakop ng US sa buong mundo, paiigtingin nito ang henosidyo upang maghari ang kanilang pampulitika at ekonomyang kapangyarihan habang umaampat ng gyera sa Asya tulad ng Pilipinas,” National Spokesperson of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) Brell Lacerna said through CEGP.

Since the start of the Marcos administration, eight Filipino journalists have been killed in attacks targeting members of the press.

“According to UNESCO, the Philippines remains one of the most dangerous places for the press, ranking 9th in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2024 Global Impunity Index. Since 1986, 202 journalists have been killed in the country, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. Only a handful of these have resulted in convictions,” The City Post remarked in a public statement.

With over 200 media killings, the protest also highlighted calls for justice against Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people and the press.

In a statement, the Philippines-Palestine Friendship Association (PPFA) expressed its “solidarity with Filipino and Palestinian journalists.”

“Today, we honor the courage of all media workers who continue to risk their lives to tell the truth — and we remember the journalists in Palestine who were killed while doing their duty,“ the Association added.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also released a statement highlighting the importance of journalists’ role in society and urging all groups to stand with press freedom.

“When journalists are unsafe, the public’s right to know is endangered. When crimes against the press go unpunished, democracy weakens,” the Union stated.

From 2006 to 2024, over 1,700 journalists worldwide were killed, with nine in ten cases still unresolved, with 119 journalist killings recorded in the Philippines, alongside numerous cases of threats and imprisonment, according to UNESCO.