Rights group calls killings of PH journalists a ‘national catastrophe’

Screengrab from https://www.hrw.org/

DAVAO CITY, Philippines —The international watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Aquino administration to declare as “national catastrophe” the killings of journalists, which “threaten civil liberties.”

Carlos Conde, Philippine researcher for Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, issued the call on Thursday as he asked Malacañang to take serious action against journalist killings.

Conde said recent events proved that the killings have become “no less than a war against the media.”

“In just the past two weeks, the body count in this war has surged: three dead journalists and one wounded in attacks perpetrated by unidentified gunmen,” Conde said.

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