New York, August 5, 2008—Gunmen shot and critically wounded radio journalist Dennis Cuesta in the southern Philippines late Monday, according to news reports. Police told international reporters the shooting may be related to Cuesta’s aggressive broadcasts on crime and social issues. Two gunmen traveling by motorcycle fired several shots at Cuesta, a program director and…
New York, July 1, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Philippine government to fully investigate the shooting death of Robert “Bert” Sison today in Sariaya town, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Manila. Sison reported for the weekly Regional Bulletin, which has published articles on crime and stories critical of local officials.
New York, June 9, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned a militant group’s abduction of three journalists from Philippine network ABS-CBN in the southern Philippine province of Sulu on Sunday. ABS-CBN news head Maria Ressa provided CPJ with an official statement today confirming that journalist Ces Drilon, cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion, and assistant cameraman Angelo Valderama…
New York, June 5, 2008—A Philippine court today convicted newspaper editor and publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivares on libel charges stemming from a 2003 article about a politically prominent lawyer, according to news reports. The regional court in Makati, outside the capital, Manila, sentenced Cacho-Olivares to an indeterminate prison sentence of six months to two years and…
Dear Chief Justice Puno, The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the recent ruling of a Cebu Court of Appeals to indefinitely suspend the murder trial of journalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. The two suspects, Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay, face allegations of plotting the March 24, 2005, murder.
Philippines: New York, May 21, 2008 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by delays in the trial of two government officials accused of ordering the 2005 murder of columnist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. The trial has been brought to an indefinite halt because of questions surrounding jurisdiction.
CPJ’s Impunity Index ranks countries where killers of journalists go free New York, April 30, 2008 — Democracies from Colombia to India and Russia to the Philippines are among the worst countries in the world at prosecuting journalists’ killers according to the Impunity Index, a list of countries compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists…
New York, April 8, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern over the murder of a journalist in Pasig city in the metropolitan region of the Philippine capital of Manila yesterday. CPJ is investigating to determine whether the killing has any connection to his reporting. Benefredo Acabal, 34, was shot several times at close range…