15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop

At the end of the workshop, fellows of the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop present the resolutions approved by the group on FOI and human rights reporting to UP College of Mass Communication Dean Roland Tolentino and former Deans Georgina Encanto and Luis Teodoro. Also in the picture is the workshop's facilitator Prof. Ben Domingo Jr and workshop's speakers AVP Danny Arao of UP and Mr. Ed Lingao of PCIJ.

Lopez Jaena fellows to PNoy: Enact FOI

We, the fellows of the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Worskshop for Community Journalism,

Asserting freedom of the press and freedom of expression as universal human rights;

Urging government to respect the Constitution and its international obligations;

Aware of the role of press as watchdog of the state; and

Cognizant of the role of transparency in democracy;

1. Push for the enactment of a genuine freedom of information bill that will open government to public scrutiny and hold public officials accountable;
2. Remind government of the principles of maximum disclosure and minimum limitations to public access to information;
3. Oppose efforts to bastardize the essence and spirit of the right to free access to information.

Signed this 25th of October, 2011 in the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication, Quezon City.

Jesus Miguel Agreda

Sun.Star Baguio

Winnie Aguilar

ABS-CBN

Ferdinandh Cabrera

GMA 7

Cong B. Corrales

MindaNews

Ma. Cecilia de los Reyes

PCIJ

JB Deveza

Philippine Daily Inquirer

NUJP Mindanao Media Safety Office

Bobby Labalan

Media Solutions Bicol

Macky Macaspac

Pinoy Weekly

Ronalyn Olea

Bulatlat

Kim Patria

UP College of Mass Communication

Ryan Rosauro

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Lady Ann Salem

Tudla Productions

Ritche Salgado

The Freeman (Cebu)

Raymund Villanueva

Kodao Productions

Michelle Zoleta

Philippine Star

Lopez Jaena fellows to government: End impunity

We, the fellows of the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Worskshop for Community Journalism,

Remembering our fallen colleagues who died in the line of duty, especially the 32 media workers who fell victim to the Ampatuan massacre;

Cognizant of the reality of violence that prevails in the Filipino society, not only against the press but even against civilians;

Alarmed by the culture of impunity that allows extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances; and

Reminded of the role of the free press in a democratic society,

1. Proclaim our condemnation of  human rights violations and demand an immediate end to the culture of impunity;
2.  Urge the government to take concrete action against perpetrators;
3. Commit to continued vigilance in our coverage of the trial of the Ampatuan massacre, other cases of extrajudicial killings, media killings and other attacks on press freedom;
4. Resolve to act as responsible journalists, guided by the principles of ethics and professionalism.

Signed this 25th of October, 2011 in the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication, Quezon City.

Jesus Miguel Agreda

Sun.Star Baguio

Winnie Aguilar

ABS-CBN

Ferdinandh Cabrera

GMA 7

Cong B. Corrales

MindaNews

Ma. Cecilia de los Reyes

PCIJ

JB Deveza

Philippine Daily Inquirer

NUJP Mindanao Media Safety Office

Bobby Labalan

Media Solutions Bicol

Macky Macaspac

Pinoy Weekly

Ronalyn Olea

Bulatlat

Kim Patria

UP College of Mass Communication

Ryan Rosauro

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Lady Ann Salem

Tudla Productions

Ritche Salgado

The Freeman (Cebu)

Raymund Villanueva

Kodao Productions

Michelle Zoleta

Philippine Star

On All Saints Day, activists call for justice for slain colleagues

By RITCHE T. SALGADO
Bulatlat.com

DUMAGUETE CITY – Justice for slain colleagues and to all victims of human rights abuses.

This was the call of progressive groups in Dumaguete City as they gathered on the morning of All Saints Day, November 1, at the site where farmer activist Fermin Lorico was slain two years ago by an assassin.

“This is a reminder to the Aquino administration to give justice for the death of Nong Fermin and to all victims of extrajudicial killings),” Fabian Magallanes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Negros) said.

Lorico, then chairman of local peasant group Kahugpungan Alang sa Ugma sa Gagmay’ng Mag-Uuma sa Oriental Negros (Kaugmaon), was shot at close range by a man riding on a motorcycle sometime in June 2009.

Members of progressive groups in Negros Oriental light candles in memory of Fermin Lorico and other victims of human rights abuse in the province.(Photo by Ritche T. Salgado / bulatlat.com)

More than two years after, the police has yet to come up with a suspect on the slaying of Lorico, according to Juliet Ragay of Babayeng Negrense Isulong ang Kalingkawasan (Banika-Amihan), a local group of peasant women.

Police insincerity

Jose Luis Blanco of Karapatan-Negros revealed that despite the formation of Task Force Lorico months after the killing, there is still no progress on the case. He said that the formation of the task force was but a token act designed to make the police appear that they are doing something on the case. In reality, though, they have not done anything, Blanco said.

Blanco revealed that instead of the police investigating the case, the burden of coming up with a witness and evidence have instead been placed on their organization.

“The police are instead asking us to produce a witness, it’s as if we are the police,” he retorted.

“There’s no clear investigation, they did not even go to the houses near the crime scene,” he added.

Blanco pointed out that the police lack sincerity in solving cases of extrajudicial killings, citing another case – the murder of Rene Quirante, then deputy secretary general of Kaugmaon.

Quirante was beaten up and shot at close range by suspected members of the 11th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army on October 1, 2010 in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.

Unknown to the family, a warrant of arrest was issued last February for a certain Lionel Librado, an alleged rebel returnee who has defected to the military. The warrant was never served to Librado, because apparently the police could not locate him. When the family knew of the warrant, they immediately went to the police station of Guihulngan City to pressure the latter to serve the warrant, but to no avail.

In April, during the hearing of a case against a non-govenrment organization (NGO) worker in Negros Occidental, Librado was presented by the military as a witness to attest the NGO worker’s involvement with the armed movement. Members of Karapatan and Kaugmaon-KMP informed the police, even giving them information as to where Librado could be located, but the only answer they could get from the police was that they were denied access by the military to enter their camp to accost Librado.

Blanco said that despite Aquino’s promise to resolve cases of extrajudicial killings, the murders of Lorico and Quirante, not to mention the hundreds of cases of human rights abuses, are yet to be solved.

From October 10, 2010 to September of this year, Karapatan have recorded 108 cases of human rights abuses in Negros Oriental, including one extrajudicial killing, three cases of torture, and 51 cases of threat, harassment, and intimidation.

The killing of members of progressive organizations is rooted on the malicious tagging of progressive organizations as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines,” Magallanes of Bayan explained.

Killings not deterrent but inspiration

However, despite all these killings and the apparent danger in their lives, Ragay said that their resolve to fight against state-instigated tyranny would continue. Rather than becoming a deterrent, the killing of Lorico and Quirante, she said, is an inspiration.

“His struggle for the people is the reason for his death,” she said.

“We will continue to fight the fight of Nong Fermin so that we would be able to show the people the worth of Nong Fermin’s life, especially now when justice is denied from his family,” she added.

Copyright © 2009 Bulatlat. All rights reserved.

A similar story, Progressives remember murdered colleague, was published in The FREEMAN on November 3, 2011.

Human rights in Aquino’s ‘righteous path’

“We have a democracy in name but not in fact.” – Manuel Diokno, president of the Free Legal Action Group

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA –Fr. Fausto Tentorio was finally laid to rest. Well-loved by members of the Manobo tribe whom he served for more than 30 years, Tentorio was shot at eight times by a lone gunman while he was getting into his pick-up truck parked inside a church compound in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato, October 17.

A day after the Italian missionary was murdered, President Benigno S. Aquino III said, “Regardless of who did the crime, they will have to pay. That has been the direction of this administration from the start—you do the crime, you will be in jail.”

Three days after the incident, at the sitio Upper Lumbo, brgy. Kabalantian of the same town,peasant leader Ramon Batoy was shot at close range in front of his pregnant wife and two children by suspected state agents, human rights group Karapatan reported. Col. Joven Gonzales, commanding officer of the 57th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army claimed that the death of Batoy was a result of a legitimate encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) . Two other civilians, Noli Badol and Celso Batol, were reportedly arrested and tortured by the soldiers.

In his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), Aquino delivered a strong message against impunity. His words, however, have not resulted in stopping human rights abuses. Fifteen months since Aquino assumed the presidency, human rights violations continue. Karapatan documented 54 victims of extrajudicial killings, eight victims of enforced disappearances and 29 victims of torture.

In a report released in July, Human Rights Watch pointed out that there have been only seven successfully prosecuted cases of extrajudicial killings, resulting in the conviction of 12 perpetrators.

The New York-based human rights watchdog added that while the military and police, as well as paramilitary forces, have been implicated in many of these killings, there has not been a single conviction of active military personnel. The group also noted that no senior military officer has been convicted either for direct involvement in these violations or as a matter of command responsibility.

The charges filed in relation to killings of journalists are not promising either.

Apart from the Ampatuan trial, there are 15 cases in court in relation to killings of journalists. Preliminary investigation in the murder of Palawan journalist Gerry Ortega led to the filing of charges against the alleged gunman but the perceived masterminds were dropped from the case.

Prima Quinsayas of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) said that of the 122 journalists killed in the line of duty since 1986, only ten had convictions. Not one of the masterminds was included, only the gunmen and accomplices, said Quinsayas.

Measures wanting

Aquino did not heed most of the recommendations put forward by various human rights groups. In fact, upon Aquino’s inauguration in June 2010, human rights watchdog Amnesty International put forward concrete recommendations to put an end to the killings.

One of these is the issuance of an executive order that clearly states the administration’s commitment to stop the practice of enforced disappearances in the country. In particular, the group called for the establishment of a presidential commission that will review all cases of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances during the last decade, in cooperation with independent bodies, with the aim of enabling speedy prosecutions.

AI noted that the Truth Commission formed by Aquino does not include human rights violations.

In December 2010, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima created a task force headed by Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III to review the unresolved cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Pursuant to the directive issued by de Lima, Baraan said they held dialogues with various government agencies.

Finding the PNP’s Task Force Usig and later the Task Force 211 insufficient, Baraan has submitted a proposal to de Lima regarding the creation of a special presidential committee for the prevention of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and media killings. He said previous task forces had only been monitoring cases.

“The president can delegate his commander-in-chief powers to the committee,” Baraan said, adding that the committee should be given the authority to enter military barracks and installations and require explanations from the military and police, file administrative cases arising from command responsibility, among others. “We need a committee that is pro-active.”

Asked to comment on Baraan’s proposal, lawyer Manuel Diokno, president of the Free Legal Action Group (Flag) and dean of the College of Law of De La Salle Univesity (DLSU) said he likes the idea. He added, however, “I don’t think the president has shown any indication that he is open to any of these proposals.”

Linda Hornilla, former DOJ undersecretary, shot down Baraan’s proposal. Also speaking to fellows of the workshop, Hornilla said there are confidential information that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would not want the public to know.

“Another thing is the delegation of commander-in-chief authority. This is a huge and enormous power, place it in the hands of a group, not just an individual, that will be a security problem for the military,” Hornilla said.

AI also pushed for legislation that specifically criminalizes enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. Malacanang, however, has not included any of the bills pertaining to the protection of human rights in 12 priority legislative measures in the 15th Congress. Several bills, including the Marcos compensation bill, bills criminalizing enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, a bill for the protection of human rights defenders, among others, continue to gather dust.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, whose party list group filed many of these bills, pointed out the lack of human rights agenda of the Aquino administration. He said bills on human rights are often relegated to the “graveyard shift.”

AI said the government should ensure that the military exercises full control over all state-sponsored militias and paramilitary groups and that the Department of National Defense clearly defines and differentiates their purposes, particularly the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAA), Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO), police auxiliaries, barangay defense forces, chain of command and accountability mechanisms, or otherwise disarm and disband them.

These steps were not taken. AI noted that President Aquino said he had no plans to disband the paramilitary groups, which according to him, act as “force multipliers” for the military and police, including the CAFGUs, SCAA, CVO, police auxiliaries and barangay defense forces.

AI also mentioned the setting up of a national quick response hotline for families of victims of arbitrary or warrantless arrests and enforced disappearances to gain immediate recourse.

CMFR’s Melinda Quintos de Jesus said media groups have proposed to Malacañang a similar measure to address media killings, the formation of a quick response team (QRT) that will be dispatched to places where incidents occurred. “That’s what we’re waiting for. That’s not happening yet.” “We’re still waiting President Aquino for some dramatic action.”

Counterinsurgency

“What is the real root of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, especially of activists? It is the attitude of the military and police that membership in the CPP-NPA [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army] is unlawful. I don’t see any improvement. That attitude still remains in the military and police,” lawyer Manuel Diokno said.

Diokno said that while the military and police established their human rights offices and underwent trainings on human rights, the problem is that they have not changed any of their fundamental practices from the time of martial law.

Baraan shared the same observation. “We know why these happen. The mentality of the military [that states] ‘They are Leftists and therefore, they are enemies.’”

“In the case of Fr. Tentorio, the reports are that he had been branded as leftist, that he’s an advocate against mining operations, he’s helping the masses. If you’re helping the masses, you are perceived as leftist,” Baraan said.

As early as April 2008, Philip Alston, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in his report, ““[T]he military’s counterinsurgency strategy against the CPP/NPA/NDF increasingly focuses on dismantling civil society organizations that are purported to be ‘CPP front groups.’”

Alston pointed out that membership in the CPP is legal, and has been since 1992 when Congress repealed the Anti-Subversion Act.

In 2010, AI called on the Aquino administration to prevent the use of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism to justify human rights violations.

Human rights group Karapatan pointed out that the policy remains under the Aquino’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.

Baraan himself is not convinced that Aquino is doing enough. “Where state agents themselves are the perpetrators or violators, there is the perception that is created, rightly or wrongly, that the state is encouraging or inspiring human rights violations or pursuing it as a policy. That perception should be erased. The problem is, killings continue and that perception persists. It is not enough for Pnoy to say ‘I will not tolerate killings.’ He should say ‘There’s no place for extralegal killings under my administration,’” Baraan said.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares said political will is necessary to prosecute crimes of extrajudicial killings.

In its July paper, Human Rights Watch noted that while the public rhetoric of senior military officers has changed somewhat since Aquino took office, the change in language “has not yet been reflected in action.”

“The problem of human rights violations is a systemic problem. It is engraved in a society which does not tolerate dissent. If that is the philosophy of government, that is weakening the institutions, that is weakening society,” Colmenares said.

“We have a democracy in name but not in fact,” Diokno said.

Colmenares said a piecemeal solution is not enough. “The solution should be comprehensive. It cannot be divorced from a social reform package.”

In a statement following Tentorio’s death, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, director of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said, “…[w]e desire to see these killings stop rather than be consoled by the platitudes they [authorities] give in exchange for our grief.”

Meanwhile, thousands wept for Tentorio. His death has revitalized calls for justice in the land he so loved. 

This article is a shorter version of the author’s output during the recently concluded 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop. The workshop was organized by the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications in cooperation with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Southeast Asian Press Alliance. This story was awarded as the 2nd Best Story during the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop.

Copyright © 2009 Bulatlat. All rights reserved.

MindaNews » Personal Essay: My father, my editor, my friend

MindaNews » Personal Essay: My father, my editor, my friend

Key ally: PNoy stand on FOI shows indifference to 'boss'

By Cong B. Corrales

InterAksyon.com

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (05 Nov 2011, 12:15 PM)- It is ironic for President Benigno Aquino III to continue professing that the Filipino people are his “boss” when it is becoming apparent he continues to underestimate them, a key ally said here Friday.

Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” R. Tañada, III, principal author of the Freedom of Information bill, told reporters during a visit here Friday of his dismay over Aquino’s indifference to the measure when “it is supposed to be the cornerstone of his governance slogan.”

“What’s so sad is that President Aquino believes the people will not be responsible enough to handle public information,” Tanada said. “The citizens are ready to receive information for them to make informed decisions.”

At an open forum with Southeast Asian business leaders in late September, Aquino said: “A Freedom of Information Act sounds so good and noble but at the same time, first of all, you’ll notice that here in this country there’s a tendency of getting information and not really utilizing it for the proper purposes.”

The Philippine Press Institute, in a 19-page position paper drafted during a forum on the FOI bill in mid-October, accused Aquino of being “childish in handling the issue and warned him to stop underestimating the press” and demanded the measure’s immediate passage and enactment.

Tanada also brushed off Aquino’s apprehensions that media would abuse an FOI law.

“I believe (the Philippine) media is responsible. They know what is right and wrong. The so-called irresponsible media (practitioners) are only a few. Without access to information, reportage of government issues will be open to speculations and tend to be sensationalized,” the Deputy Speaker, who represents Quezon province, said.

In an emailed reply to questions, lawyer Nepomuceno Malalulan, lead convenor of the Right to Know, Right Now Network, said the FOI bill is practically gathering dust in the public information committees of both the House and the Senate because of “Malacañang’s creation of a study group to address President Aquino’s concerns.”

“Rep. Tañada consulted with the study group and in the process stalled the committee process, in the hope of getting the executive concurrence on a common version. I think that the Senate also waited for the result of the study,” Malaluan said.

However Aquino did not endorse the study group’s proposed amendments “when it was presented to him before the second LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council),” Malaluan said.

The Right to Know, Right Now Network, a coalition of organizations and individuals from various sectors, has been at the forefront of the campaign to pass the FOI bill. It posits that the “public considers access to official information is still so complicated and lengthy for the layperson that by the time the information it needs is released, it may no longer be needed.”

Stressing the importance of having an FOI law, Tanada cited the recent clash between government troops and the MILF in Basilan that left 19 Special Forces troops dead.

He said most of the reports were speculative because vital public information was not readily available.

For his part, Malaluan said the “challenge now is for Congress to proceed even without (Aquino’s) inclusion of FOI in his legislative priorities.”

“Senator (Gregorio) Honasan has given his commitment to proceed. We are hoping that will have a committee report ready soon,” he added.

But Malaluan said they have not had a similar commitment from the Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, who chairs the House public information committee.

“We are still trying to set a meeting with House Speaker (Feliciano) Belmonte (Jr.) to appeal to him to allow the committee process to proceed, similar to the Senate,” Malaluan said.

He said the House held one committee hearing on November 23 last year during which Tanada was named chair of the Technical Working Group.

“The TWG met last February 3 and Rep. Tanada has submitted to the committee chair his proposed consolidation of the bills. The Senate has held two hearings, the first on October 14, 2010 and the second was last August 8, this year,” Malaluan said.

Despite the seemingly bleak prospects for the FOI’s passage, Tanada said he remains optimistic.

“We did it in the 14th Congress. I feel we can do it again,” he said.

He added the “committee on public information needs only to set the FOI bill as an agenda (item) when we resume.”

“He (Aquino) has to understand that, even as he keeps on saying his administration is transparent, this institutional reform is not for his term because we don’t know if the next administration will be as transparent as Aquino’s,” Tanada said.

First published in InterAksyon.com.

A Halloween story: Tuyor's special Adobo

“Even though I cooked it very well, there’s still a curious after taste when I ate it.”

By Cong B. Corrales

HE had less than an hour to finish. His family—he thought—might start suspecting where he got the main ingredient for their supper so late in the evening.

Jovencio Tuyor crazily chopped the onions, garlic, hurriedly crushes the paminta seeds and crumpled the laurel leaves. Simultaneously, he broiled his prized meat he got that evening. “Maybe this would lessen the pungent smell of the meat,” he muttered.

After broiling the meat for 20 or so minutes, he marinated it with vinegar and soy sauce in a pot. He poured all the ingredients he chopped earlier, dashed it with some rock salt and monosodium glutamate and let the contents broil again for another 20 minutes.

Moments later, Jovencio hollered to his wife and kids. “Dinner is ready guys,” he said in vernacular.

It had been a long dry spell without eating meat and kids were famished, the Tuyors ate their repast that night with gusto.

Earlier that evening of September 30, this year, Jovencio, his eldest son Melchor, Rey Dadole, Arante Maravillas and brothers Johnny and Junmar Candar had been drinking in a village store. They were neighbors in Naawan—a sleepy coastal town 30 minutes away from Cagayan de Oro city.

After about 30 minutes into their drinking, the group decided to part ways and call it a night. Ten to 15 meters en route to their respective homes, Arante, Johnny and Junmar heard an eerie shriek. Realizing it was Rey’s voice frantically yelling “mama tabang” (mother help)—they rushed to where the shouts came from.

When they trained their flashlight to where the voice came from they saw Rey, his back to the ground, while Jovencio was striding him plunging and hacking the boy with a scythe. With each lunges and hacks, they could hear the boy’s blood oozing to the grassy ground, where at one moment they even thought they heard it bubbling as Rey gargled his own blood.

Noticing the light, Jovencio looked up to his drinking buddies. “Dili baya mo magsaba bai ha,” (Do not tell anybody about this.) in between heavy panting, he said flatly.

Scared out of their wits, they scrambled to their homes but Melchor remained with his father. Jovencio then scalped half of Rey’s face including one of his earlobes. Not contented, he lopped off the boy’s arm-muscles—both the triceps and bicep—up to his elbow. Father and son, then, hurriedly left for their home.

Estenely, Rey’s mother, having last seen him afternoon of September 30—worried sick—finally decided to file for a missing person at the Naawan Police on wee hours of October 2.

That same day, hours later, Naawan Police found Rey’s mutilated corpse lying on a grassy knoll not far from where the witnesses said they had a drinking spree. Half of his face was missing as well as almost half of his left arm, while 31 stabs and hack wounds were found in the different parts of his torso.

Rev. Sanny Limbag—a minister of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Naawan for six years—said that blinding rage may have pushed Jovencio to commit the grisly acts.

Unknown to Rey’s mother and a couple of weeks before that fateful drinking spree, Melchor got mauled in one of the town’s dark alleys. He was pounded so hard he had to go to their village clinic. While recuperating, he identified Rey as his attacker to his father, Jovencio.

However, Jovencio had been known in their village to have committed other disturbing practices.

His neighbors said they once saw him eat a Carabao meat raw after rustling it from a neighboring sitio. Jovencio had also been known to include cat meat in his family’s meals (According to his wife, he was the cook of the family.).

Jovencio was arrested by SPO1 Arnold Sacabin, PO3 Cirilo Manco Sr, PO2 Jope Cagabcab and PO1 Senador Ostero of the Naawan Police Station hours after finding Rey’s body.

During his preliminary inquest last October 23, Jovencio showed no sign of remorse or regret as he stared blankly at the prosecutor who peppered him with questions.

Arante Maravillas and brothers Johnny and Junmar Candar—who stood as witnesses—denied having partaken of Rey’s flesh and subsequently release from the municipal jail where they were held after Jovencio’s arrest.

Melchor—and the rest of the Tuyors—have since left town, leaving Jovencio on his own in Misamis Oriental Provincial Jail, where he is currently being detained awaiting his formal trial.

There he confessed to local media he cooked and ate Rey’s flesh with his family.

“Even though I cooked it very well, there’s still a curious after taste when I ate it,” Jovencio had told media in the vernacular.

Back in Naawan, the people still talk about the incident albeit in hushed tones. Rural grapevine had since abuzz and the sleepy coastal town west of this city will never be the same again.

“After the Tuyor incident, the people here were never the same. I know this will forever be etched in the memories of the people here,” said Limbag.

(All anecdotal situations are based on real events, affidavits of witnesses, police reports and the accounts of the self-confessed cannibal, himself.)

Also published in My Wits End.

The perils of community journalism

Ritche Tribo Salgado, PTRP

One of the things that we discussed tonight over dinner is the perils of community journalism, particularly its vulnerability to corruption.

Having worked for local papers for almost ten years, I have come to realize that the reason why journalists are prone to accepting “gifts” is because they do not make enough money that would allow them to at least raise a decent family.

As much as we want to raise the ethics of journalism in the provinces, we have to accept the fact that media workers are not just chroniclers of events, they are also people with needs.

It was also raised that some community papers exist simply because the owner wants a piece of the pie on legal notices, or ads in general. Some of the fellows said that these papers do not care about the content of their paper, they are more concerned on their qualification as a publication that could print these notices. For them, to be able to print their paper, pay their people, and earn a decent income that would allow them to improve their facilities and services further, so to speak, is far more important than giving their readers quality material. In fact, they don’t really care if they are being read or not.

On the other hand, one of the fellows said that the reason why she decided to go into alternative journalism is because she could not swallow the culture of mainstream media, which is profit-oriented.

Almost always, the people who are into alternative journalism are those who still have a thread of idealism in their blood; that despite not earning much, they believe that they need to stick to their principles. But really, can’t mainstream media genuinely do what they say and be independent, free from the influence and dictate of advertisers?

If we are really sincere about raising the standards of community journalism in this country, then we must look for ways to support and promote alternative journalism, or to the most, help community papers to look for other ways of earning an income aside from advertisements.

But then, come to think of it, a strong media outfit is one that could print anything that they want to print but still get businesses to advertise with them. The question now is, just how strong and influential must a media outfit be for it to become truly independent?

Pakikinig

ni Raymund B Villanueva

Gustuhin ko mang magtakip ng tenga

magbusal ng tutule

lumabas ng kwarto

Hindi ko gagawin

Uupo ako rito

Kumpareng Raymond Manalo

Nanay Linda Cadapan

Makikinig muli sa inyong kwento

Ilang beses ko mang narinig na

Ang makapanindig balahibong salaysay

ng pagdukot

ng toryur

ng pambababoy

ng walang kapantay na kahayupan

Makikinig muli ako ng inyong mga kwento

Kasama niyo ako rito sa bulwagan

Katulad ninyong lalamig ang dugo

manghihina

magagalit

maiiyak

malulungkot ng pagkalalim-lalim

Ayaw

ayaw na ayaw kong marinig muli ang inyong mga kwento

ayaw ko na ngang pakinggan sa unang pagkakataon

Pero uupo pa rin ako rito

Makikinig

Ito ang aking ambag

pagkilala at paggalang

sa inyong dalamhati

sa inyong tapang

sa inyong kawalang-kapaguran

sa inyong mga sakripisyo

sa inyong magiting na anak, Nanay

sa iyong pagpaslang ng mga bangungot, Pare

Sige po

Nanay Linda

Pareng Raymond, tukayo

Habang di kayo napapagod

hindi tumitigil

Na magkwento

Makikinig ako.

                                                --5:00 n.h.

                                                20 Oktubre 2011

                                                Palihang Graciano Lopez Jaena

                                                Dalubhasaan ng Komunikasyong Pangmadla

                                                Unibersidad ng Pilipinas

                                                Lungsod Quezon

Dean Tolentino's welcome remarks to the participants of the 15th Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop

Chancellor Caesar Saloma, mga Dekano Luis Teodoro at Georgina Encanto, Executive Director Malou Mangahas of PCIJ, fellows ng ika-15 Lopez Jaena Workshop para sa Komunidad na Pamamahayag, mga kasamahan sa Kolehiyo, mga kaibigan at bisita,

Malugod ko kayong binabati sa Kolehiyo ng Komunikasyong Pangmadla at sa ika-15 Lopez Jaena Workshop.  Mahaba ang pinagdaanan para muling buhayin ang Lopez Jaena Workshop, nananatiling centerpiece na programa ang Workshop ng Kolehiyo para sa kanyang extension work.

Sa isang forum para sa akademikong gawain dito sa UP, may mga ofisyal na pumuna sa minumungkahing PhD Media Studies ng Kolehiyo.  Ang dahilan ng kanilang pag-aatubili ay nakaangkla sa katanungan, “Sa programa bang ito, bubuti na ang mapapanood sa telebisyon, mapapakinggan sa radyo, matutunghayan sa pelikulang Filipino?”  Ang mas mataray kong colleague ang sumagot, “Hindi naman inaasahan sa School of Economics na sa kanilang pag-aaral ay masolusyonan nila ang problema ng ekonomiya ng bansa, di ba?  Bakit may ganitong diin sa Masscomm?”

            May kumpiyansa ang Kolehiyo na solido ang kanyang mga programa.  Dalawa rito—ang Journalism at Communication Research—ay hinirang na mga “Center of Excellence” ng Commission on Higher Education.  Ang film program—ang kauna-unahan sa bansa—ay kabilang sa top ten film schools sa buong mundo, ayon sa trade publication na Hollywood Reporter.  Bukod sa skills at production courses, binabalanse rin sa mga programa ang teorya, kritisismo, kritikal na praktis, malikhaing pagpapahayag, ethics at batas ng media.  Bagamat ang blind spot ng mga programa, kasama ang Broadcast Communication, ay ang matibay na ugnay sa industriya, ang extension work ng Kolehiyo ang siyang inaasahang makaapekto sa mas malaking mundo ng media at media ng mundo labas sa Unibersidad.

            Kahapon, sa expectation check natin, binanggit ko ang aking interes para sa Kolehiyo, kung bakit kasama akong nagtataguyod ng revitalization ng Lopez Jaena Workshop:  para maisaalang-alang ng Kolehiyo ang napakahalagang extension work ng continuing education at best practices sa mga nasa frontline ng media sa bansa—ang community journalists.  Sa kalaunan, dapat itong maipaloob sa aktwal na kurikulum ng Kolehiyo, na hindi na lamang itaguyod ang interes sa staffing ng industriya ng media ang mga estudyante at graduate nito, kundi naihahanay ang community media bilang napakahalaga at napakalehitimong arena ng pakikisangkot ng UP Masscomm:  na kung hindi man lubos na mababago--malamang hanggang antas lamang ng profesyonalismo--ang mga media conglomorate, sa media sa hanay ng mga sa ibaba, ang rerebisahing kurikulum ay higit na nakakatugon sa pangangailangan ng ating mayorya’t disenfranchised na mamamayan.

            At itong extension work ang nais ko pang pagtibayin sa Kolehiyo.  Nauna nang sinuportahan ng administrasyon ng UP ang Gawad Plaridel para sa profesyonalismo ng isang media practitioner na nakakaangat—di nalalampasan—ng kanyang kahanay bilang paghahanap ng mga modelong maaring tularan ng estudyante ng media at komunikasyon di lamang sa UP kundi sa buong Filipinas.  Nagpapasalamat ako kay Chancellor Saloma sa pagkilala at suporta na muling pagtibayin itong naunang extension work ng Kolehiyo:  ang Lopez Jaena Workshop para sa Community Journalism na layong makapagbigay ng karagdagang skills, politikal na perspektiba at kritikal na praktis sa kritikal na ngang praktis ng journalism, lalo na ng community journalism, sa bansa.  Kaagad nakuha ni Chancellor Saloma ang pangangailangang suportahan ng UP Diliman ang frontliners ng media, ang movers sa ground level, ang nalalabing malawakang sityo ng empowerment ng mamamayan sa bansa.

            Inaasahan ko ring maitaguyod ng Kolehiyo ang isa pang extension work nito, ang kanyang Media Literacy program para sa mga guro sa lahat ng antas ng edukasyon para maapektuhan ng Kolehiyo at UP Diliman ang pagkakaroon ng kritikal na pag-unawa sa media at sa mga produkto ng media.  Sa mas matagalang yugto, ang planong maitaguyod ang Armando Malay Media Center na magsisinsin at higit pang magpapalawak ng mga programa sa extension work ng Kolehiyo para makatugon ito sa wish list ng mga nakasama ko sa isang akademikong forum:  ang pagbabago ng hubog, laman at kalakaran ng media batay sa pagpapalaganap ng best practices na malilikom at maipapalaganap ng Kolehiyo para sa empowerment ng ating mamamayan.

            Nananatiling peligroso ang profesyon at mga profesyonal ng media.  Di naman kaila ang pagpapatuloy ng kultura ng impunity na siyang patuloy na nagpapalaganap ng politikal na pagpaslang sa mga aktibista at peryodista.  Sa bisperas nga nitong revitalization ng Lopez Jaena Workshop, ilang beses na binaril ang Italianong paring si Fr. Fausto Tentorio na ang buong buhay nito ay inalay para sa pinakamahirap na mamamayan sa Arakan Valley, Cotobato at sa Mindanao.  Sa kanyang alaala, at sa iba pang nauna sa kanya, natin inaalay ang pagpapalakas ng Lopez Jaena Workshop.

            May di iilang pumuna sa tema ng workshop, “Human Rights and Justice” dahil napakarami na raw na ganitong workshops para sa community journalists.  Kung tunay ngang pinapalakas ang Lopez Jaena Workshop, dapat maglinya ang Workshop ng patuloy na napapanahong tema.  Marami na nga ang naunang mga workshop, pero higit na mas marami at malawak pa rin ang saklaw ng karahasan sa mamamahayag at mamamayan.  At kailangang ipagbunyi ang gawain sa pamamahayag ay gawain sa human rights at katarungan.  Dagdag pa rito, na napakahalaga ng papel ng media para sa gawaing human rights at katarungan sa bansang ito.

            Hindi simpleng workshop na skills tooling ang Lopez Jaena Workshop.  Ito ay skills at tooling sa buhay, pamamahayag at paano ba tunay na maging mamamahayag sa komunidad?  Nais kong pasalamatan ang Office of Extension at External Relations sa ilalim ni Prof. Arminda Santiago at URA Alex Tamayo sa pagtataguyod ng Lopez Jaena Workshop, at pagbibigay ng tahanan sa Kolehiyo para sa susunod pa nitong mga workshop.

            At sa huli, nais ko ring pasalamatan at batiin kayong mga community journalists, na sa pamamagitan ng buhay at profesyonalismo ninyo nagkakaroon ng halaga ang ginagawa at balak naming gawin sa Kolehiyo.  Mabuhay kayong naririto, angat din sa inyong mga kahanay.  Nawa’y dumami pa ang inyong hanay at lumawak pa ang larangan ng community journalism at media sa bansa.

           

UP Diliman Chancellor Saloma's Opening Message to the participants of the 15th Lopez Jaena Workshop

Great journalists do not simply chronicle history-they create history.  Graciano Lopez Jaena, the man after whom this community journalism workshop is named, is proof of this.  Together with Marcelo H. del Pilar and Jose Rizal, he published La Solidaridad, the reformist paper that advanced the cause of the Propaganda Movement.  Lopez Jaena wielded his pen to expose the forms of oppression endured by Filipinos under the colonial government of Spain and to defend the human rights of his countrymen.  As a journalist, he was not contented to watch history unfold from the sidelines, opting instead to participate directly in shaping the course of history.

            Today, given the convenience of the Internet and the effortless access to an audience through platforms such as SMS, Facebook, and Twitter, it is easy for the Filipino journalist to fall into laziness, doing legwork online instead of out in the world and cobbling together an article through cut-and-paste rather than rigorous composition.  The eloquence that inspires revolutions gives way to bite-sized comments too small to convey analysis and ephemeral quips quickly buried under the more recent activity of one’s news feed.  To maximize the power of technology to disseminate information and ideas immediately to more recipients over wide distances, today’s Filipino journalist must work doubly hard to make his or her words matter amid all the other words competing for the reader’s attention.  The journalist must produce writing whose substance and style drive the reader to take notice, take heart, and take action.  In other words, the Filipino journalist must not lose sight of the potency of the written word as an instrument of social change.  One needs only to turn Lopez Jaena, del Pilar, and Rizal-all heroes whose heroism manifested in their writing-to be reminded of this.

            A journalist who embraces the responsibility to pursue social justice runs the risk of incurring the ire of those whose power depends on the status quo.  This is especially true of community journalists who put themselves in harm’s way when they fearlessly interrogate local politics.  Because of their literal proximity to the issues they cover, they are more vulnerable to retaliation from the subjects of their criticism.  Unsurprisingly, provincial journalists are the primary targets of media killings in the country.  The Maguindanao Massacre alone took the lives of 32 media workers, making the Philippines the most dangerous country in the world for journalists.

            The dire situation makes this year’s workshop themes, justice and human rights, all the more timely.  Much is expected of community journalists, not the least of which is to serve as an alternative to established media outlets, providing ideas and information specific to the area they serve and engaging with national issues through the lens of local concerns.  Achieving this while upholding ethical media practices is also another pressing matter.  But as acknowledged by the themes of this workshop, justice and human rights must assume top billing in this gathering of journalists for they are not only central subjects in journalism but central problems for journalists themselves, who have lost members of the profession to violence.  The culture of impunity that permits these crimes to flourish must be put to a stop.  We need out journalists to be heroes not in death but in life.

            I wish the fellows and panelists well as you embark on the journey cut out for you in this workshop.  I hope the sessions prove to be productive, and I hope they reinvigorate your commitment to this profession that bridges the solitude of writing as a creative act with the solidarity of writing as an instrument for social change.

15th Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop

16  awarded fellowships in 15^th UP-CMC  Community Journalism Workshop

The University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) has chosen 15 print, broadcast and online journalists and a graduating journalism student as fellows in the 15th Lopez Jaena Journalism Workshop.

The workshop is being held in partnership with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA).

This year’s workshop focuses on justice and human rights. It will be held at the CMC Plaridel Hall in UP Diliman from October 19 to 25.

The fellows from the Philippines are Winnie Aguilar (Krusada, ABS-CBN), Jesus Miguel Agreda (Sun.Star Baguio), Ferdinand Cabrera (ABS-CBN Cotabato), Leonard Corrales (News correspondent, Cagayan de Oro), Joseph Deveza (Philippine Daily Inquirer Cagayan De Oro), Bobby Labalan (Media Solutions Bicol), Macky Macaspac (Pinoy Weekly), Ronalyn Olea (Bulatlat),  Ryan Rosauro (Philippine Daily Inquirer Mindanao), Lady Ann Salem (Tudla Productions), Richie Salgado (The Freeman Cebu), Raymund Villanueva (Kodao Productions) and Michelle Zoleta (Filipino Times Lucena), Che delos Reyes (PCIJ), and Adine Bernardo (PCIJ).

The 16 fellows were chosen on the basis of their professional background, sample works and story idea for an article they should write during the workshop.

The 15th Lopez Jaena Journalism Workshop is the UP CMC’s contribution to the global campaign against media killings which will be highlighted by the International Day to End Impunity on November 23. This marks the second year of the 2009 Ampatuan massacre which claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 journalists and media workers.

For more details, please contact Prof. Luis V. Teodoro, workshop director, at lvteodoro@up.edu.ph