Business beat reporters decry Duterte statements on media killings

The Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) has decried recent pronouncements made by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on media killings, saying it may be construed as "soliciting violence" against journalists.

"We in EJAP find his pronouncement inappropriate, most specially for someone of his stature who’s supposed to defend the rule of law," EJAP said in a statement.

This comes after Duterte announced that corrupt media practitioners deserve to die.

"Kasi kung journalist ka na tama, wala namang gagalaw sa iyo, especially if it is true. I mean, you cannot hide the truth, by the way, " Duterte said last week, noting the death of Davao-based radio broadcaster Jun Pala, a critic of his who was murdered in 2003.

"Ang example natin dito, kung tagarito ka man, si Pala. I don't want to demean his memory but he was a rotten son of a bitch. He deserved it. Eh ganu'n eh," he said.

According to the EJAP, such statements add "fuel to the fire of discontent, which in a way can also be construed as soliciting violence against us practitioners."

"While corruption is a grave concern, violence is never a solution to addressing the problem. It may also be worth noting that practitioners on their own and collectively as an industry are working to address the issue," it added.

The media group also stressed that the Philippine justice system already has an established due process in hearing out grievances and concerns.

"(V)iolence as a means of redress is never an option and would be a slap in the face of a democratic country like the Philippines that prides itself to be a society governed by the rule of law yet has a President who justifies killing sans due process," it said.

FB shutdown

The statement was originally posted on the wall of the official Facebook account of the group under the name Ejap Pilipinas on Friday, June 3.

The account, however, was taken down by Facebook on Saturday, June 4.

EJAP officials said they were instructed by the social media network to present proper records such as identification cards to establish identity and prove ownership of the account and regain control. —ALG, GMA News