At least 68 journalists worldwide were killed for their work in 2009, the highest yearly tally ever documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the organization said in its year-end analysis. The record toll was driven in large part by the election-related slaughter of more than 30 media workers in the Philippine province of Maguindanao, the deadliest event for the press in CPJ history.

“Consciously put in place protections for human rights during martial law in Maguindanao,” the independent Commission on Human Rights urged the government including the military during International Human Rights Day (10 December).

CHR chair Leila de Lima: “In spite of the scale of efforts to directly or indirectly curb corruption, we come face to face with the realization that the breadth of the problem is not only significantly larger than the efforts against it, but corrupt practice has enjoyed a longevity and permanent entrenchment that requires nothing short of a society-wide transformation. Nothing illustrates the breadth of the issue more completely than the very issue occupying the most of the front page news – the Maguindanao Massacre. Maguindanao and the entrenchment of its political elite expounds the pervasiveness of a culture subservient to corruption across all stakeholders, from local and national duty-bearers, to an entire provincial population of rights-holders.”

The fundamental principles of legality and due process have been abandoned, with security forces having unprecedented powers given by the head of state under this martial law.

The NUPL’s Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Lawyers said that the death of Attys. Brizuela and Oquendo brings the total number of lawyers and judges killed to 24 and 15, respectively, since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed power in 2001.

“If President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo thinks that she would continue to remain immune from suit by being a member of the House of Representatives in 2010, the president is dreaming,” human rights law group National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said.

The brutal killing of 57 people in Maguindanao, including some 30 journalists, should be seen as a watershed moment for the Philippines, according to two United Nations human rights experts.

PCCI believes that further discussion or debate on this issue will just exacerbate, if not derail the current efforts by both the government and private sector in concretely addressing the challenges of the global recession and allowing the economy to function effectively for the benefit of our citizenry.

The November 23 Movement and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) invite you to take part in the International Day of Action against Impunity, a collective expression of outrage against the killings of journalists and innocent civilians in Maguindanao and the call for justice for all victims.

Commission on Human Rights: “Now that the people have done their part, it is our turn to do ours. It is the government’s turn to vindicate our people’s faith in our institutions, in our Constitution and laws.”

The brutal, indiscriminate mass murder on Monday in Ampatuan town, in Maguindanao province, raises the ultimate challenge of conscience. It carries the culture of impunity at work in this country to such levels of horror that, if it remains unpunished for long, can send the nation into an inexorable descent into absolute dehumanization.

The reason Monday’s incident became international news is because of the high number of victims killed all at once and because so many were journalists and women. Had the killings been spread out over weeks and months, very few outside of the province would have heard of it.

The 30 media workers comprise more than half of the 57 confirmed casualties of what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, according to a list compiled and verified by the Humanitarian and Fact-Finding Mission of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), a network of independent media organizations, including the PCIJ.

A week after the gruesome massacre that claimed 64 lives in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, various cause-oriented groups today will hold a March Against Impunity to demand justice for the victims. The groups will assemble at the University of Sto. Tomas before marching toward the Don Chino Roces Monument in Mendiola Bridge. Joining the march are journalists, lawyers, artists, human rights activists, women’s rights advocates, students and religious.

While government remains optimistic that remittances and Christmas spending will help pick up the economy after weak third quarter growth, research group IBON said there is no reason to be certain that the economy is going to achi