Journalists to March Vs Killings

Northern Mindanao media groups will gather in an indignation rally in Cagayan De Oro City to demand justice for slain broadcaster Ernesto “Ka Ernie” Rollin Friday.

Members of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) and the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters sa Pilipinas (KBP) as well as journalists from Gingoog, Ozamiz, Iligan and Bukidnon will march from the Misamis Oriental Capitol to the Divisoria Freedom Kiosk.

According to Michael Bustamante, president of the Philippine National Police Press Corps in Northern Mindanao and assistant station manager of dxIF Bombo Radyo, the indignation rally aims to generate greater awareness on media killings and moral support for the family of Rollin and other murdered journalists in the region.

Radioman Jose Pantoja, head of “Task Force Ka Ernie” organized and himself a survivor of a murder attempt in IIigan in 2007, said killings of journalists have no place in a civilized society and media groups have a duty to remind the community of the pernicious effects of extrajudicial killings to freedom of expression. “It’s not only in the press; when a non-media person is killed just because he or she expressed her mind or exercised her right as a concerned citizen, that is extremely alarming,” he said.

In a statement, the Oroquieta City Press Club call on authorities to fasttrack its investigation into the case. “We understand that the lack of economic security, low income, and political violence have forced several media practitioners into several corrupt practices to include the familiar term of “envelopmental journalism”, among others. These practices then easily make them frontline targets of political violence. But in Ka Ernie and all other media deaths, there is absolutely no moral and rational justification for murder. We at the Oroquieta Press Club reiterate our call for a swift and impartial investigation that will eventually lead towards the delivery of justice to Ka Ernie’s family and the media community as well,” they added.

At around 5:00 a.m. of February 23, 2009, Rollin became the first journalist in the country murdered this year, the 99th since the restoration of democratic institutions in 1986 and the 63rd since President Arroyo came to power in 2001. A report from NUJP-Ozamiz City Chapter said Rollin was parking his motorcycle at a gasoline station along the national highway in Barangay Talicbe when two men on a motorcycle drove up and shot him several times. before commuting to work as anchorman of dxSY-AM in Ozamiz City

Rollin, 52, was an anchorman of dxSY-AM in Ozamiz City and was known for his hard hitting commentaries. (pinoypress.net)