January 26, 2011, Kathmandu. The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) condemns the killing of another broadcaster in the Philippines, Dr Gerardo Ortega of dwAR-AM of Puerto Princesa, Palawan Province last January 24, 2011.

We are extremely saddened by the senseless assassination of another Philippine colleague and we express our deepest sympathies to Dr Ortega’s family, colleagues and friends.  Dr Ortega, according to testimonies by AMARC members in the Philippines, showed early in life his desire for genuine and pro-people change in the Philippines.  In college, he was a member of the nationalist League of Filipino Students and, as a broadcaster, was a staunch defender of the environment against destructive mining that marginalizes indigenous peoples and his beloved province, Palawan.

AMARC is fully aware of the sad “body count” of slain journalists in the Philippines.  Dr Ortega is the third to have offered his life for pro-people journalism under the Benigno Aquino administration and the 142nd since the country was supposed to have regained democracy in 1986.

AMARC expresses alarm over the unabated killing of journalists and calls upon the new government to put a stop to them and deliver justice to all the victims.  During its 10th World Conference in La Plata, Argentina last November, AMARC unanimously approved a resolution calling for such and it is most unfortunate that our appeals are unheeded (http://amarc10.amarc.org/index.php?p=amarc10_workshop&l=EN.)

As we call for justice for Dr Ortega, we again call on the Philippine government to stop the killings of journalists, deliver justice to the victims, and provide a democratic atmosphere where freedom of the press is guaranteed. AMARC will remain vigilant over the culture of impunity reigning darkly over the Philippines.

-END-

About AMARC:

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement in over 110 countries, and advocating for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighbourhood levels. AMARC has an International Secretariat in Montreal. It has regional sections in Africa, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, North America and Asia Pacific and offices in Johannesburg, Buenos Aires, Brussels, and Kathmandu. For more information, please contact Suman Basnet, Regional Coordinator for Asia-Pacific, [email protected] or visit www.asiapacific.amarc.org.