The media community in Negros, in a unity statement issued, denounced the malicious spreading of anonymous lists of purported drug personalities, including at least 15 media practitioners.
The unity statement was issued after a joint meeting of the Negros Press Club (NPC) headed by its president Renato Duran, National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) national chairman Jaime Espina, and NUJP Bacolod chairperson Marchel Espina.
The joint statement said, “the inconsistencies and seeming lack of logic in the composition of these lists indicate that these were drawn up by conflicting parties out to destroy each other while, at the same time, attempting to muddle their tracks by including random names, including our colleagues.”
It added that, “the first of these lists tagged those named as ‘subject for neutralization,’ a euphemism for killings, a serious threat considering that all three include the names of lawyer Rafael Atutubo and SPO4 Oscar Exaltado, who were both murdered by still unknown gunmen.”
This is unfortunate because, even as the war on drugs claimed thousands of lives all over the country, almost all of the victims were deprived of their rights to due process, Bacolod City has relatively been spared the bloodshed – until recently, that is, the statement further said.
It added that, “Aside from the killings, we have also seen how even ranking city and law enforcement officials have been arbitrarily accused of involvement in drugs without any valid proof being presented.”
So far there are three lists sent to media outfits in Bacolod since last week.
‘UPHOLD RULE OF LAW.’
The statement also said that, “This is unacceptable to us, not only as journalists but as citizens of this country who share and deserve to enjoy the rights guaranteed by our Constitution and the laws of the land. No one, and we mean no one, should be subjected to trial by publicity and, worse, punished without being accorded due process.”
We expect our authorities – both law enforcement and the civil government – to uphold the rule of law and ensure the safety of all citizens, especially the innocent, it added.
The statement further said that, “We demand that they investigate and get the cowards and criminals – for what they have done is a crime – responsible for creating and spreading these lists and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
It added that, “We call on all members of the media community of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental to close ranks and defend our integrity even as we urge everyone to uphold the highest ethical and professional standards as we go about our work.”
“Let us not be cowed by these slanders and threats. Let us remain committed to our calling and continue to serve the people’s right to know,” the statement said.*(NDB, photo by Faye Orellana)