media times 2013 (sample)

PhiliPPine Journalism reviewDecember 2013

MEDIA TIMES

Lostin Court

The Ampatuan Massacre Trial

‘DIGITAL REVOLUTION’ IN THE PHILIPPINES:

reaDY For TaKe oFF

PORK & PLUNDER

meDia in aiD oF PuBliC ouTraGe

DISASTER-PRONE PHILIPPINES:

meDia’s resPonsiBiliTY

on meDia anD aDverTisinGFACTS AND FIGURES

PORK AND PLUNDER

Media in Aidof Public Outrage

KATHRYN ROJA G. RAYMUNDO26

Tableof Contents

MEDIA TIMESPHILIPPINE JOURNALISM REVIEW

2013

Media TimesPhilippine Journalism Review

is published by the

All mail should be addressed to:Media Times

Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility2/F Ateneo Professional Schools Salcedo

130 H.V. dela Costa Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City 1227 Philippines

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The publication of this issue is supported by a partnership with the Media Specialists Association of the Philippines

and a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy.

Copyright © 2013 Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility. All rights reserved.

Melinda Quintos de JesusPublisher and Editor in Chief

Luis V. TeodoroPJR Reports Editor

Kathryn Roja G. RaymundoManaging Editor

Melanie Y. PinlacJohn Reiner M. AntiquerraPaul Dawnson M. Formaran

Penzer R. BaternaPauline Mie R. Rapanut

Staff Writers

Lara Q. de JesusEditorial Assistant

Carol M. ParageleEditorial Secretary

Lito OcampoPhotographer

Borriz Caparuzo | Design PlusDesign and Layout

Melinda Quintos de JesusLuis V. Teodoro

Maria Isabel G. OngpinTina Monzon Palma

Vergel O. SantosCarlos H. CondeLorna Kalaw-TirolBoard of Advisers

Our CoverMILLION PEOPLE MARCH, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHYBY JOHN K. CHUA/ADPHOTO, INC.

PHILIPPINE JOURNALISM REVIEW

PHILIPPINE JOURNALISM REVIEWDecember 2013

Lostin Court

The Ampatuan Massacre Trial

‘DIGITAL REVOLUTION’ IN THE PHILIPPINES:

READY FOR TAKE OFF

PORK & PLUNDER

MEDIA IN AID OF PUBLIC OUTRAGE

DISASTER-PRONE PHILIPPINES:

MEDIA’S RESPONSIBILITY

ON MEDIA AND ADVERTISINGFACTS AND FIGURES

LITO O

CA

MP

O

LOST IN COURT:Retrieving the Narrative

MELINDA QUINTOS DE JESUS 16

THE AMPATUAN MASSACRE TRIAL

DISASTER-PRONEPHILIPPINES

Media’s ResponsibilityLUIS V. TEODORO

10

REPORTING THE ZAMBOANGA CRISIS:CONFUSED AND CONFUSING

REPORTING SUICIDE: HARDLY PAINLESS

‘MEDIA MOGULRY’ REDUX

34

42

48

PHILIPPINE MEDIA FACTS AND FIGURES90

‘DIGITAL REVOLUTION’ IN THE PHILIPPINES: READY FOR TAKE OFF

MEDIA CONVERGENCE:IT ALL BEGAN ONLINE

FROM LOLAS TO APOS: A BRAVE NEW DIGITAL WORLD

MEDIA POWER TODAY

76

80

84

88

STATE OF THE COMMUNITY PRESS56

BY THE NUMBERS: ATTACKS AND THREATS AGAINST THE PRESS

MEDIA-RELATED BILLS: LEGISLATORS DIFFER ON THEROLE OF THE PRESS

68

73

‘IN MEDIAS RES’ ON ELECTIONS52

ALA

NA

H T

OR

RA

LBA

Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility • 2013 MEDIA TIMES | 7

Melinda Quintos de Jesus

T his current venture into publishing recalls an editorial project in an earlier period in the development of Philippine media.

In the late seventies, I found myself editing a new magazine which the publisher called TV Times. He was a fan of TV Guide in the US; and thought a similar weekly could inform Filipino viewers about the programs offered by four privately owned television networks and one owned by government.

Ferdinand Marcos had declared martial law in 1972. There was little to set apart the treatment of news in private or in the government stations. The few public affairs talk shows focused mostly on soft and safe subjects. All through that decade, media reported on politics and government according to

imposed limits, primarily to avoid trouble but also to please persons in power, the president and his wife, their families, friends and appointed of�icials. Television and broadcast owners formed the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas which agreed to police themselves in the observance of of�icial, if silent, guidelines.

So TV Times did not bother much with the wasteland of news at the time. It turned its critical eye on the use of television for entertainment and recreation. TV Times critics cheered the creative exploration of the TV drama, the musicals showcasing performances; and jeered the dumbing down of the audience with the banal offerings of variety shows at lunch time and other hours through the day. TV Times lamented the failure of the medium to provide more instructional and educational segments,and the lack of quality programs for children.

TV Times gained wide following especially among young ones who avidly followed their heartthrobs in both local and international shows. These young readers insisted that their parents buy TV Times weekly.

Because there was little point for a popular magazine to criticize anything else, TV Times led the voices raised against the failings of the “idiot box.”

In a different age, Media Times now expands as well as deepens the critical review of media power. The Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility (CMFR) has conducted a monitor of the news coverage since 1990. The

Philippine Journalism Review (PJR), and later the PJR Reports, started with newspapers and later added news programs on television, evaluating the performance of the press and quality of journalism. The exercise has been an attempt to set standards, and hopefully, to ground the practice of the press on the values of accuracy, fairness and public service.

CMFR has evolved the review format through the last 23 years, from a quarterly and then bimonthly hard edition, sent free to the press community to help them conduct their own post-mortem and to sustain a form of genuine self-regulation.

With the growth of technology, CMFR decided to forego the printed edition, publishing its review of media coverage on digital platforms, including social media. CMFR has done the same for all its other activities, including its press freedom protection.

The dynamic response of the online community has been encouraging; at times, exhilarating; as on occasion, individuals initiate the critique of media conduct on their own. The free press needs this critical response and we can only hope that the practice becomes widespread as the media grows and evolves even more ways of providing news.

The divided audience of news is a complex reality in the Philippines. The digital divide is economic as well as generational. Many may be active on the Internet but limit their use of it to their primary interest, much of which falls under entertainment and lifestyle issues. There are others who although bound to their computer, their tablet or smartphone still seek the tactile experience of a publication.

I still think that print holds a reader’s attention in a unique manner and engages mind and heart in immeasurable ways. Do digital media do as much? Perhaps, but in the meantime, it may be unwise to completely let go of our hold of the printed word.

Thus, CMFR turns once again to the production of a volume, one that can be carried around, placed on the desk or by the bedside for reading, and on the shelves for easy reference.

Media Times reaches out to this multiple public with this annual volume, a review of the year’s events and developments through the prism of news. Recognizing the power of media in our times, the magazine hopes to engage a wider public, forcing readers to make the quality of the press, or the lack of it, their own individual concern.

This shared responsibility is necessary for a free press to ful�ill its mandate to provide the kind of news and information that will transform the public into a community of citizens.

The engagement of more Filipinos in the development of the news media could help us grow a press that is more conscious of its obligation to provide news, information and commentary so more people can think and form sound and reasonable ideas that are based on facts.

Media Times is for Filipinos living in an age of free media and in the midst of proliferating platforms that connect as well as divide us. Media Times hopes to help Filipinos make more critical use of the media, and force the diversity and variety of these platforms to help us think and communicate through time.

This endeavor has drawn us into partnership with the Media Specialists Association of the Philippines (MSAP) which deemed the idea worthy of marketing support. We are thankful for the support of MSAP and gratefully acknowledge a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy for helping to make this possible.

Welcome then to this bold and new enterprise.

Publisher’s Note

The Media Specialists Association of the Philippines is a duly recognized non-stock and non-profi t organization engaged in the promotion and protection of its members in conducting their business as media practitioners

and in establishing industry standards of performance, ethics and accountability, among others. Incorporated in 2009, the Association’s members hail from various media agencies and individual practitioners.

Members: Carat Philippines, Club Media, Dentsu Philippines Inc., Havas Media, M2M, Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, Mediaforce Vizeum, Mindshare, OMD, PHd, StarCom, Touch DDB, Universal McCann, Zenith Optimedia

23rd Flr., Picadilly Star Building, 4th Avenue cor. 27th Street, Fort Bonifacio Global, Taguig City

+632622-3468 / +63917-630-7045 / +63905-229-6653 / +63999-977-4790

https://www.facebook.com/msap2013

Based in Washington, D.C., the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, non-profi t foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes

more than 1,000 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries.

Since its founding in 1983, the Endowment has remained on the leading edge of democratic struggles everywhere, while evolving into a multifaceted institution that is a hub of activity, resources and intellectual exchange

for activists, practitioners and scholars of democracy the world over.

http://www.ned.org/

16 | MEDIA TIMES 2013 • Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility

LOST IN COURT

BY MELINDA QUINTOS DE JESUS

PHOTOS BY LITO OCAMPO

Retrievingthe

Narrative


THE KILLING OF 58 PERSONS including 32 journalists on Nov. 23, 2009 is among the most brutal crimes in the country’s shameful history of political violence. The massacre has been described as “the single most

bloody strike” against journalists in the world. The case is emblematic of the well-documented attacks and threats against journalists in the Philippines, sustaining the country’s inclusion among the “the most dangerous assignment(s)” listed by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In 2011, a global campaign selected this date as the “International Day to End Impunity.”


Filipinos were horri�ied by news of the massacre in 2009. But for many, the murders were a feature of the familiar landscape of violence that wracks local politics — the long-running hostilities among rival clans and warlords, the cycles of revenge that run through the generational bloodlines of political clans, the culture of violence that sooner or later invades so many aspects of public life.

There are many other stories of killings that never make the news. And this story may have been quite as easily buried and eventually forgotten had there not been so many journalists slain.

The massacre was easy enough to understand, the tale simple enough to tell. Apart from the exceptional venality of the murders, the narrative was easy enough to follow.

The chronology moved from one action to the next with a precision that could only have �lowed from a master plan. Just days before the �iling of Certi�icates of Candidacy (COCs), the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of�ice in Cotobato of�ice was closed, forcing all candidates in Maguindanao to �ile their certi�icates in an area controlled by the Ampatuans. The diagram of movement traced the distance traveled by the convoy led by Genalyn Mangudadatu, wife of a political candidate in Maguindanao, accompanied by family members, supporters and members of the media, making its way to the satellite of�ice of the COMELEC in the town of Shariff Aguak so Genalyn could �ile the COC for her husband.

The same diagram dots the check-points the group had passed before their vehicles were forced to a halt, their direction diverted to a deserted hillside, which the bloody deed transformed into a killing �ield.

The �irst fact-�inding team of reporters saw the still freshly dug mounds of earth, the backhoe, standing evidence of the plot to kill massively, holding its position exactly where it had ceased the digging, the turning of the soil to bury the dead, a mass grave bereft of markers.

They saw the scattered shoes, bags, cameras and pieces of clothing. The hasty digging of the shallow graves had left 22 bodies unburied and exposed on the ground. Within days, all the bodies of the dead were counted and identi�ied, except one.*

Philippine media were quick to report the murders, descending on the city and government agencies of Region XII to track the early investigation of the case. Reports quickly tallied the number of the slain, the identi�ication of the primary suspect, Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., his arrest and detention.

The media reported the inquest, the �light which took the primary suspect to a detention cell in Manila, escorted by no less than the then Presidential Peace Adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, the �irst days of trial followed by the arraignment of the accused. The speed with which the wheels of justice moved was unusual and raised high expectations for the case.

LOSING THE STORY TO THE COURTS

The media lost hold of the narrative, once the story moved to Branch 221 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City. Reporters who saw both the big and the little picture re�lected in the mass murder soon had problems following the court’s routine chronology. Reports �loundered in reporting the legal proceedings, de�ining the legal terms, and in working through the logic and reasoning of “due process” as expressed in confounding legalese.

The process of justice, which is of relevance to every man and woman, keeps the ordinary observer out in the cold.

The realm of the courts makes sense only for those who practice law. When they take over, the story loses its clarity.

The trial has lagged for all of these years. To date, it has not moved out of the bail hearings of the primary and other suspects. In this country, bail hearings do not focus on the obvious point, the need to grant or deny bail. The motion, one would think, requires a basic assessment of the potential of �light for the accused and the gravity the crime. It is a matter that should be decided quickly. Otherwise, the exercise is futile and without a point, denying bail to the accused and complicating the legal strategy of either side.

Lawyers in the Philippines do not seem to mind the long bail hearings because they involve the presentation of the “evidence-in-chief” which they would not have to present again in the trial proper. Key witnesses can make an appearance at this stage.

As such, it allows motions asking for explanations and clari�ications, for actions to contest court orders (certiorari), each one taking days or weeks to resolve — the kind of time that news deadlines cannot accommodate, time that simply does not exist in the world of news.

Thus has the trial gone into the shadows, the strange limbo in public life, the territory of inattention, where even the most ardent advocates �ind themselves at some point unable to recognize where the trial stands at a given moment.

The rules and regulations of the court compose a fugue, what in music can be brilliant layering, sequencing and counter movements of notes. But in the conduct of the court, the legal fugue consists of the slow dogged exchange of motions and “informations” which can at a certain point defy meaning.

It dulls the sense of urgency for justice and causes the fugue of amnesia, allowing the memory to let go of the story and to forget horrendous violence.

More than three years into the trial, it is time for media and the public to recall the object of the exercise and retrieve the narrative of the story — justice for those who lost their lives, justice for those who lost their loved ones, justice which is the

* Midland Review’s Reynaldo Momay


right of every Filipino, the same justice without which there is no center that will hold society to order.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

There was trust in the aftermath of the tragedy that some good would come out of it. The over-arching evil becomes so monstrous as to provoke the kind of force, driving the collective political will to move in concert with purposeful action, a momentum that cannot be stopped.

The press, whatever its �laws, is best at this stage of the story. It has, more than others, the close look at breaking news. News of the killings spread swiftly through the communication lines connecting public of�icials and private individuals, public agencies and civil society organizations.

Here was a case that was so big it could not be ignored, not even in the Philippines, whose ranking in CPJ’s Impunity Index is at the top three, with two worse offenders, Somalia and Iraq.

The challenge was obvious for those working on press protection and journalist safety: They had to work together to make sure the perpetrators were identi�ied and taken to court, that witnesses come forward and be protected. That community drew from lawyers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), forensic experts, the of�icials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and of course, the media.

The community of NGOs looked to the quiet leadership of the late Leo Dacera III, who at the time was Senior State

Prosecutor and head of the Witness Protection Program of the DOJ. In previous cases, he had shepherded witnesses in the program so they could testify against the accused in cases of journalist killings. He headed the panel who conducted the inquest proceedings of Andal Ampatuan Jr, also called “Unsay,” at the General Santos City airport before he was transported to Manila on Nov. 26, 2009.

The speed of action quickly completed the �iling of 25 complaints (informations) for multiple murder against Unsay before the Cotabato RTC Branch 15 on the �irst of December 2009, one week after the massacre.

One week later, the Supreme Court granted the petitions for change of venue �iled by the state prosecution panel, the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. The trial was moved to Branch 221 of the RTC of Quezon City. The transfer to the national capital would help keep the case on the public screen.

But the order for the transfer of the trial venue reached the DOJ prosecution panel only on Dec.10, 2009.

While the panel of prosecutors working from the ground built up the momentum in the preliminary investigation conducted during the term of then President Gloria Arroyo, then Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera also ordered the creation of another panel based in Manila, the latter focusing on the cases that arose from succeeding events after the massacre.

Dacera was also included in the second panel, co-chairing the Manila panel with State Prosecutor Roseanne Balauag.


The process and proceedings observe rules and regulations, designed to move forward the search for truth.

In our courts, the judge rules without a jury — a system which should make things simpler. And yet, there is a danger of the trial’s being held captive by legal rules and regulations. Lawyers do not have to make their case understandable to the public.

Due process then moves according to the pace set by litigators, primarily those who defend the powerful accused, those who have mastered the system so it can favor the accused as innocent until proven guilty.

The pace changes when the accused has no money, as these cases are taken by public defenders who have nothing to gain from undue delays.

Process and proceedings in this case where the accused belongs to a powerful and wealthy political clan are seen by many to have been manipulated to buy time and to delay.

Decisions made by the judge can be questioned, not once but several times. Each motion can be followed by yet another motion for reconsideration, and this opens up to yet another avenue of legal remedy, the action of certiorari to the higher courts. Each motion starts up an exchange of written motions which takes at least a week to complete by any party, including the judge. But these, more often than not, can take even more time.

SOME MILESTONES

The legal brie�ings prepared by FFFJ’s private prosecutor for advocate groups summarize and assess the milestones in the trial (See timeline, page 21):

The DOJ �iled 57 murder charges against 197 accused. The number of accused now stands at 195. The court has dismissed charges against one individual for lack of probable cause and

Meanwhile, another level of investigation involved the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). The two agencies conducted separate investigations and �iled their complaints separately before the DOJ panel in Manila. The panel then held two public hearings, consolidating the two complaints in one preliminary investigation.

On Feb. 7, 2010, the panel of prosecutors �iled Amended Informations for multiple murder against Unsay and 196 perpetrators, including the clan patriarch, Andal Ampatuan Sr. and other family members.

The long list of accused raised eyebrows from both legal and non-legal observers. Charged with “conspiracy to commit . . .” the number of accused would involve a process that signaled a trial of unacceptable length. The charges against all were the same. The charge of conspiracy made the crime of one the crime of all, equalizing blame among all accused.

Was there a need to name so many? Private prosecutor Nena Santos recalled that the team working

on the ground was readying charges against 30 accused. Unnamed sources described the two DOJ panels in con�lict

over what strategy to follow, whether to charge only those whose conviction would be supported by strongest evidence or to include everyone who was cited in the NBI and CIDG reports as having played a part in the massacre.

A review of the NBI case referral reveals a shorter list of persons to be indicted in contrast to the long list of the CIDG.

The decision to follow the latter signaled the delays that would come and the arduous process of each case, the most prominent of which was the �irst, the complaint against the �irst to stand accused.

FOR LAWYERS ONLY

In simplest terms, a court trial is the assessment of guilt or innocence based on evidence and testimony, a process that discovers the truth from the acts of the accused recalled by witnesses, revealing the sequence of events as they happened, corroborated by documents and other forensic evidence. Due process involves the unfolding of the truth.

In many countries, ordinary men and women are included in the process of �inding the truth as members of a jury. One has been trained by exposure to novels and television dramas dealing with crime and court trials to expect the logic of argumentation and the reasoning in the script, designed to convince the jury for or against the accused.


INFOGRAPHIC BY MELANIE Y. PINLAC

Ampatuan family members. Among the petitions filed before the higher courts, only two have been decided with finality by the Supreme Court.

As borne out by court records, the RTC trying the case has postponed the arraignments of accused Ampatuans because of the petitions in the higher courts. The arraignment of Akmad “Tato” and Anwar Sr. Ampatuan, for example, was set three times before charges were �inally read to them.

Prosecution �iled its formal offer of evidence in opposition to Unsay’s bail petition in 2011. The prosecution concluded its presentation of evidence in opposition to Unsay’s bail petition in September 2012.

The bail petition has yet to be resolved. Defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun has not started presenting evidence on the petition for bail.

The judge has not yet ruled on the Formal Offer of Evidence of the prosecution, which determines the pieces of evidence to be admitted by the court.

There seems to be a logic to all of the above. But the logic evades the ordinary curious mind.

What is clear is the simple fact: After over three years of the trial, it certainly feels that we have not moved from the beginning.

against another who died after allegedly committing suicide while in detention.

Two other accused who were at large were reported to have died in separate incidents, one allegedly killed in a police operation and the other in an encounter between alleged Moro Islamic Liberation Front factions. These two deaths have not been con�irmed due to lack of death certi�icates.

Since the �irst hearing on Jan. 5, 2010, defense lawyers have �iled a total of nine motions asking the judge to recuse or inhibit herself from hearing the case. Each motion required a written response from the judge. Defense counsel Sigfrid Fortun �iled seven of the nine petitions for recusation. In other court systems, such repeated petitions to the judge, questioning judicial independence, is more strictly limited.

DOJ records show that only 106 of the 197 perpetrators are currently in custody.

Only 98 of the 106 have been arraigned. Only eight of the 17 Ampatuans with “Datu” titles have been arraigned. The Defense has also �iled seven petitions in higher courts. Five petitions for certiorari were filed with the Court

of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Four of these are for

DAY IN COURTThe arraignment of two other members of the Ampatuan clan was scheduled The arraignment of two other members of the Ampatuan clan was scheduled

on October 2. The small courtroom had been built for the trial on the ground on October 2. The small courtroom had been built for the trial on the ground

�loor of a prison building in the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa in �loor of a prison building in the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa in

Taguig as a secure location when the presence of the accused is required. Taguig as a secure location when the presence of the accused is required.

Its beige walls are still clean, the paint free of marks and stains. Although Its beige walls are still clean, the paint free of marks and stains. Although

some �luorescent bulbs were burnt out, sunlight breaks through the vertical some �luorescent bulbs were burnt out, sunlight breaks through the vertical

blinds of the glass windows, brightening the room. blinds of the glass windows, brightening the room.

Six family members of the victims were present. They sat on one side Six family members of the victims were present. They sat on one side

of the room. Most of the seats on the other side were taken by the accused of the room. Most of the seats on the other side were taken by the accused

in detention, mostly the soldiers and police who were on duty at the in detention, mostly the soldiers and police who were on duty at the

checkpoints and others who were with the Ampatuans at the scene of the checkpoints and others who were with the Ampatuans at the scene of the

crime. Dressed in the yellow T-shirts given to detainees, they walked in crime. Dressed in the yellow T-shirts given to detainees, they walked in

hand-cuffed and wordlessly took their seats to watch, their faces weary but hand-cuffed and wordlessly took their seats to watch, their faces weary but

with little expression. with little expression.

The accused, Ipi Ampatuan, was wheeled into the courtroom by another The accused, Ipi Ampatuan, was wheeled into the courtroom by another

detainee. The other accused, Ulo Ampatuan, took a seat in the room and then detainee. The other accused, Ulo Ampatuan, took a seat in the room and then

walked forward when the charges were read. Hand-cuffed like the rest, they walked forward when the charges were read. Hand-cuffed like the rest, they

wore the same uniform, yellow T-shirts. wore the same uniform, yellow T-shirts.

They were read the charges against them in Pilipino: They were read the charges against them in Pilipino:

“That sometime on November 23, 2009 at Sitio Masalay, Brgy. Salman, “That sometime on November 23, 2009 at Sitio Masalay, Brgy. Salman,

Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this

Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and

mutually helping one another, with evident premeditation, taking advantage mutually helping one another, with evident premeditation, taking advantage

of superior strength, treachery, with cruelty, in uninhabited place and by a of superior strength, treachery, with cruelty, in uninhabited place and by a

band, armed with high powered �irearms, with intent to kill, did then and there band, armed with high powered �irearms, with intent to kill, did then and there

willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously attack, assault and shoot (willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously attack, assault and shoot ( ), with the ), with the

use of said �irearms, thereby in�licting upon (use of said �irearms, thereby in�licting upon ( ) multiple gunshot wounds, ) multiple gunshot wounds,

that caused (that caused ( ) death to the damage and prejudice of () death to the damage and prejudice of ( ) heirs.” ) heirs.”

Both entered the same plea, as have 96 others: “Not Guilty.”Both entered the same plea, as have 96 others: “Not Guilty.”

The same charge was read to all accused upon arraignment. The same charge was read to all accused upon arraignment.

During the hearing, the judge ruled to permit the rebuttal of the defense During the hearing, the judge ruled to permit the rebuttal of the defense

to the arguments presented by the prosecution in the bail hearing, a ruling to the arguments presented by the prosecution in the bail hearing, a ruling

which she clari�ied would apply to all other accused, if their lawyers wanted which she clari�ied would apply to all other accused, if their lawyers wanted

to do so. to do so.

The ruling was vehemently opposed by the private prosecutor for The ruling was vehemently opposed by the private prosecutor for

Mangudadatu, but the judge cut her short. Mangudadatu, but the judge cut her short.

It would seem then to the lay observer that from the beginning, the legal It would seem then to the lay observer that from the beginning, the legal

strategy was designed for delay. The inclusion of so many accused opened the strategy was designed for delay. The inclusion of so many accused opened the

process to more opportunities for delay, delay that places both sides in a state of process to more opportunities for delay, delay that places both sides in a state of

suspended animation.suspended animation.


INFOGRAPHIC BY MELANIE Y. PINLAC


SLOW WHEEL OF JUSTICENo Masterminds Convicted Since 1986

BY MELANIE Y. PINLAC

The gunmen in 11 out of 137 cases of journalists killed have been convicted. No mastermind before and after the Nov. 23, 2009 Ampatuan Massacre has been arrested. Eleven suspected masterminds are on trial for the Massacre. The arrest orders for the masterminds in the killing of Marlene Esperat were never served and the suspects are still at large. In 2013 as in past years, the manipulation of court procedures continued to delay the trials. The delays in trials have prolonged the suffering of the survivors of slain journalists. Below is a list of the cases against the killers of journalists and their current status. The cases against the suspects in the Ampatuan Massacre are not included in the list.

ONGOING TRIALS

NAME DATE OF DEATH NEWS ORGANIZATION

Rolando Ureta January 3, 2001 dyKR

Apolinario “Polly” Pobeda May 17, 2003 dwTI

Herson Hinolan November 15, 2004 dyIN - Bombo Radyo

Fausto “Bert” Sison June 30, 2008 dzAT

Martin Roxas August 7, 2008 dyVR

Arecio Padrigao November 17, 2008 dxRS - Radyo Natin

Ernesto Rollin February 23, 2009 dxSY

Crispin Perez June 9, 2009 dwDO

Godofredo Linao July 27, 2009 Radyo Natin-Bislig

Ismael Pasigna December 24, 2009 B- 96 FM

Desiderio “Jessie” Camangyan June 14, 2010 Sunrise FM

Jovelito Agustin June 16, 2010 dzJC

Miguel “Mike” Belen July 31, 2010 dwEB-FM

Niel Jimena August 22, 2011 dyRI

Aldion Layao April 8, 2012 dxRP

WITH CONVICTION

NAME DATE OF DEATHNEWS

ORGANIZATIONTRIAL STATUS

Dionisio Perpetuo Joaquin April 12, 1987 Olongapo News With conviction

Nesino Paulin Toling April 14, 1991 Panguil Bay Monitor

With conviction

Alberto Berbon December 15, 1996

dzMM With conviction

Odilon Mallari February 15, 1998 dxCP With conviction | Archived (for other

suspects)

Frank Palma April 25, 1999 dwYB-Bombo Radyo

With conviction

Edgar Damalerio May 13, 2001 dxKP, Zamboanga Scribe, Mindanao

Gold Star

With conviction

Marlene Esperat March 24, 2005 The Midland Review

With conviction | Archived

(case against masterminds)

Klein Cantoneros May 4, 2005 dxAA With conviction

George Benaojan December 1, 2005 dyDD With conviction

Armando “Rachman” Pace July 18, 2006 dxDS With conviction

Gerardo "Doc Gerry" Ortega January 24, 2011 dwAR With conviction | Ongoing trial for masterminds and

other suspects

ARCHIVED CASES



Arnnel Manalo August 5, 2004 dzRH, Bulgar, Dyaryo Veritas

Archived

Gene Boyd Lumawag November 12, 2004

MindaNews Archived: suspects killed

Philip Agustin May 10, 2005 Starline Times Recorder

Archived (for other suspects) | Case against alleged

mastermind dismissed

Rolando Morales July 3, 2005 dxMD Archived

Ricardo Uy November 18, 2005

dzRS-AM Archived

Robert Ramos November 20, 2005

Katapat Archived

Dennis Cuesta August 9, 2008 dxMD Archived

Miguelito "Mike" Rueras June 2, 2013 dyDD Archived (suspect found dead)

CASE DISMISSED | RESOLVED WITH ACQUITTAL



Ruben Manrique August 12, 1988 Luzon Tribune Dismissed at the trial court

Candelario “Jhun” Cayona May 30, 2001 dxLL Dismissed at the trial court

Noel Villarante August 19, 2003 The Laguna Score, dzJV

Dismissed at the trial court

Elpidio “Ely” Binoya June 17, 2004 dzRH Radyo Natin Dismissed at the trial court

Roger Mariano July 31, 2004 dzJC Acquittal

Fernando "Batman" Lintuan December 24, 2007

dxGO Acquittal

Fernando Batul May 22, 2006 dyPR Acquittal

CASES FILED BUT SUSPECTS AT-LARGE

NAME DATE OF DEATH NEWS ORGANIZATION

Marlina Sumera March 24, 2011 dzME

Edgardo Adajar January 2, 2013 HOT FM 101.5

Bonifacio Loreto Jr. July 30, 2013 Aksyon Ngayon

Richard Kho July 30, 2013 Aksyon Ngayon

media times 2013 (sample)

Documents

media timescenter

media issues

medias responsibilityon

media specialists association

layoutmelinda quintos

narrativemelinda quintos

offpork plundermedia

tv times