The International Federation of

Journalists (IFJ) demands that authorities in the Philippines

take immediate steps to ensure the safety of journalists in Palawan

province, who remain under serious threat of assassination following the murder

of broadcaster Gerado Ortega last month.

IFJ affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) has received information that two more

journalists have been targeted by those behind Ortega’s January 24 murder.

Rodolfo Edrad Jr, purportedly the link

to the alleged mastermind of the Ortega killing who surrendered to police on

February 5, told authorities that two more Palawan

journalists are next in line to be murdered, information which has been

verified by the NUJP.

One of the journalists in question

has reported unknown people watching his house, the NUJP reported.

“This credible evidence that journalists in Palawan province face physical harm

requires an urgent response by authorities in the Philippines,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The IFJ demands that the Philippine

National Police work to remove any possibility that further violence be

perpetrated against journalists in Palawan

province, and move quickly to bring those who ordered the murder of Gerado

Ortega to justice.”

The IFJ supports the view of the NUJP that should authorities fail to guarantee

Palawan journalists’ safety when there is clear evidence that lives are in

danger, it will only serve to bolster the growing perception that the administration

of President Benigno Aquino III does not put a premium on protecting citizens’

lives and freedoms.

Ortega, a prominent news anchor and commentator with dwAR, was

shot in the head at about 10am on January 24 as he was shopping in the San

Pedro district of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of the country’s

far-western island province

of Palawan.

For further

information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific

on +612 9333 0919

The IFJ

represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries

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IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific

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