The undersigned representatives of media advocacy and journalists'
groups in Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, who converged
in Manila from March 21 to 24 on a special mission sponsored by the
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) to mark the fourth
anniversary of the assassination of Sultan Kudarat journalist
Marlene Esperat, are alarmed by the continuing killing of media
workers in the Philippines and the inadequate measures the
government is taking to stop them.

We note with concern that despite intensified efforts by civil
society and Philippine media groups themselves to convince the
government, its law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to
address the issue of impunity and the killings, the murders, a
majority of which occur in the provinces, have been continuing.

An average of five journalists has been killed in the line of duty
in the Philippines since 2001 when the Arroyo administration came
to power. By the end of February 2009, the count of slain
journalists has gone up to 78 since the end of the Marcos
dictatorship in 1986, according to statistics compiled by the
Philippine-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

One of the reasons we came to the Philippines on the eve of the
fourth death anniversary of Esperat was because we believe that the
culture of impunity that is deeply-rooted in the Philippines could
be replicated in other countries in the region unless there is a
common effort to dismantle it in the Philippines. We note an
increase in the violence against journalists and media workers in
Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand, including browbeating,
harassment and mob attacks on individual journalists; surrounding
media premises; and the killing of journalists in addition to the
use of legal sanctions to silence the media and suppress on-line
free expression in 2008.

In expressing solidarity with the Filipino media community, we urge
that the prosecution of the killers and masterminds in the killing
of Filipino journalists be vigorously pursued in order to bring the
perpetrators behind bars and put an end to the impunity.

We honor the 78 fellow journalists who were killed in the line of
duty in the Philippines since 1986.

In observance of the fourth death anniversary of Esperat, a
columnist of the Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat-based newspaper
Midland Review and block-time radio broadcaster who was gunned down
at her home in Barangay Isabela city on March 24, 2005, we,
therefore, demand that the two alleged masterminds, Osmena Montañer
and Estrella Sabay be arrested immediately and prosecuted. Only a
demonstration of the efficacy of the justice system in resolving
crimes like the killing of Esperat can help put an end to the
killing of journalists.

At the same time, we welcome a new development, the creation of
tracker teams within the Philippine National Police's Task Force
Usig to cause the arrest of suspected killers and masterminds in
pending media killing cases.

We hope the Task Force will seriously pursue the suspects because
the killing of a citizen, whether or not he or she is a journalist
is a state crime that should not be tolerated or subjected to
compromise.

We also call upon media workers in the Philippines and in the rest
of Southeast Asia to observe the ethical and professional standards
of journalism. While we are fully aware that excellence alone will
not prevent the killing of journalists, excellence removes an
excuse for murder and encourages citizenry outrage whenever a
journalist is killed.

We call upon the Philippine citizenry to actively engage in the
anti-impunity campaigns and to be in solidarity with the media
community because for every journalist killed, the public is denied
its right to access to information.

Finally, given the prevailing sense of urgency in the impunity
issue and in anticipation of an increase in the number of
journalists being killed as the 2010 presidential election draws
closer, we call upon President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to take the
steps necessary to prevent that unfortunate development. Madame
President, a halt to the killing of journalists as well as
political dissenters would be one of the enduring legacies you can
leave the Filipino people as your term ends.

Signed in Manila on 24 March 2009

Doung Hak Samrithy, Vice President of the Cambodian Association for
the Protection of Journalists

Jajang Jalamudin, Secretary General of the Alliance of Independent
Journalists, Indonesia

Pradit Ruangdit, Secretary General of  the Thai Journalists
Association

V Gayathry, Executive Director of the Center for Independent
Journalism, Malaysia

Kulachada Chaipipat, Campaign and Advocacy Officer / Head of the
Mission, Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Thailand