Vice President Jejomar Binay INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay condemned Monday the recent killing of a media practitioner in Cavite, saying that the silencing of members of media has no place in a democratic country.
“We have fought so hard to regain our people’s freedom of speech and expression. We have fought for a free press and we cannot allow certain quarters to silence the peoples’ voices,” Binay said in a statement.
“I condemn those responsible for the death of Rubilita Garcia. I expect our authorities will leave no stone unturned in their search for her killers,” he said.
Garcia, a correspondent of the tabloid newspaper Remate for the last 20 years and a broadcaster at a local radio station, was murdered in her home in Bacoor City while she was with her granddaughter and sister-in-law Sunday.
She heads a newly formed group of journalists in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) called the Confederation of Active Media Practitioners Organization.
“Such killings have no place in a democratic country like ours,” he added.
If proven that her killing was related to her work, she would be the 20th journalist killed in the line of duty under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
The country is still reeling from the single deadliest event for journalists, the Maguindanao massacre, that occurred nearly five years ago on November 23, 2009.
At least 34 journalists were killed by members of the Ampatuan clan as they were joining a convoy to cover Esmael Mangudadatu’s filing of his certificate of candidacy in the provincial Commission on Elections (Comelec) office.
Mangudadatu’s family and several other innocent victims were also killed bringing the total number of casualties to 58.
Prior to the massacre, the Committee to Protect Journalists has already labelled the Philippines as the second most dangerous country for journalists following Iraq.
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