ISANG LITRATO KA LANG
Images of 50 Filipino Photographers

Vargas Museum
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
13 january - 4 february 2005

"BUHAY PINOY FOTOG" - Forum / 1 February, 2:30 PM

The collection features the works of Filipino photographers working in various wire photo agencies, newspapers and magazines. It was organized by Nonoy Tan, Ben Razon and Pat Roque. It was first exhibited, in two batches, at The Oarhouse, a watering hole of artists, writers, photographers, the academe, expats and thriving professionals, located along Mabini Street in Malate, Manila from 23 August to 30 September 2004. Artist Ed Manalo installed the mounted prints. Fuji Film-YKL printed the exhibit photographs. Chie Zamora mounted and matted the photographs.

The Philippine Center for Photojournalism facilitated its re-mounting at the Vargas Museum in conjunction with February as the Philippine Arts Month. 

This is the inagural exhibition of the UP Vargas Museum to celebrate its year of photography.  The Museum is honoring Philippine photographers and Philippine photograph collections.  The Museum has more than 20,000 photographs in its archives spanning the Commonwealth period to the 1950s bequeathed by the late Jorge B. Vargas, Commonwealth Executive Secretary to President Manuel Quezon and Mayor of Manila during the Japanese occupation.

A FORUM where photographers will talk about the exhibit and about photography and photojournalism will be held on FEBRUARY 1, 2005 / 2:30 pm at Vargas Museum Lobby. Main speakers are Ben Razon, Raffy Lerma and Mel Cortez. Snacks will be served. Everyone is cordially invited to the exhibit and to the forum. Klik!

[ insight about the forum ]

The Philippine Constitution lists Press Freedom as a basic right of Filipinos, on par with the right to life, the right to freedom of speech and _expression, and freedom from involuntary detention and torture.

On the eve of the commemoration of the International Day of Human Rights, Filipino print, radio, television and web-based media practitioners join the lament of all compatriots whose rights have been violated in what is supposed to be one of Asia's most vibrant democracies.

Our national officials like to describe the Philippine Press as among the most free in the region. Certainly, many journalists in other Asian countries languish indefinitely in jail. Colleagues in other nations experience censorship or work under the shadow of draconian internal security laws that brook no dissent against a country's rulers.

But in the most basic of rights – that to life – the Philippine Press is under siege. The Philippine Press will remember 2004 as a year of infamy. We have lost 13 colleagues in what could be work-related murders, the highest number in history. We have lost more in other incidents billed as "ordinary" crimes – though no bereavement due to senseless violence can be called ordinary.

There has been no single conviction of a journalist's murder since 1986. And the killers of our colleagues are getting bolder.

In at least three recent killings – that of Bombo anchor Herson Hinolan in Kalibo, Aklan; of Freeman reporter Allan Dizon of Cebu, and of Guru Press reporter Stephen Omaois in Kalinga – the dastardly acts were followed by gloating calls and more death threats to the newsrooms.  The climate of impunity is such that murder of a journalist also sparks a rash of death threats in other regions.

In condemning the killings, media groups are aware that our profession does not suffer alone. We also condemn the killings of judges, lawyers, anti-corruption advocates, and human rights workers
nationwide.

As Filipino journalists unite today in outrage, we also stand defiant against those who wish to silence Philippine media.  The Press does not exist in a vacuum. Our nation's history has shown that it is when the Press is silenced that the dark hours descend on our people. Majority of journalists joined our people's struggle for the restoration of democracy, and a number of us gave up their careers and lives for this cause.

Most journalists also fought to protect democracy against those who sought to turn back the tide of change.  We ask the public to support us in the fight for Press Freedom. This right is enshrined in the Constitution, not because a special sector demands special privilege, but because it helps ensure adherence to all other basic civil liberties. With every murder of a journalist, or a judge, an environmentalist, an anti-corruption activist, a human rights worker – democracy dies a little. As our nation grapples with crisis, and powerful groups jockey to control big chunks of our economy and body politic, many among our citizens, journalists among them, become casualties of events. It is time Filipinos raise their voices against the violence that stalks our land.

Media organizations are stepping up the campaign for the ethical practice of journalism. Media groups and individual journalists are struggling to rectify numerous flaws in our profession. This we owe the public – our readers, listeners and viewers. Indeed, these tasks are overdue, and we also ask the public to continuously remind us of our duties and responsibilities.

But Filipino journalists shall give no quarter to those to want to see a cowed and quiescent Press. A united media sends notice to the enemies of Press Freedom. We shall overcome.  #

Hundreds of journalists all over the country on Thursday joined a nationwide campaign to protect media workers and protest the rash of killings of journalists.

As of 4:30 p.m., more than 200 media organizations and individuals have already signed a pooled statement condemning the rash of killings of Filipino journalists.

More signatures are being received by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) as of press time.

Several media outlets nationwide participated in various protest activities at 3 p.m. Thursday.

In Baguio City, 35 journalists gathered at Igorot Park and held a noise barrage, the local NUJP chapter reported.

In Aklan, Bicol, Iloilo and Dumaguete City, local radio stations observed a two-minute silence at 3 p.m. while local stations of the country's television networks broadcast the pooled editorial, which was published by national and local news dailies Thursday.

Other national and local newspapers are expected to publish the statement Friday. Television stations are also expected to read the pooled statement during their evening newscast Thursday.

As of press time, NUJP is still receiving updates of activities from provincial chapters.

Aside from the pooled statement, media organizations were expected to hang streamers outside their offices protesting the killings of journalists.

Timed for the observance of International Human Rights Day on December 10, the pooled statement also lamented the human-rights situation in the Philippines, which is supposed to be one of Asia's
most vibrant democracies.

The statement points out that while journalists in other countries are jailed or are subject to harsh censorship and media laws, media practitioners in the Philippines are being murdered with impunity.

"The Philippine press will remember 2004 as a year of infamy. We have lost 13 colleagues in what could be work-related murders, the highest number in history," the statement, which was drafted by NUJP, reads.

In condemning the killings, the signatories said, "media groups are aware that our profession does not suffer alone. We also condemn the killings of judges, lawyers, anti-corruption advocates and human
rights workers nationwide."

It called on Filipinos to support the struggle for a free press.

Reference:

INDAY ESPINA-VARONA
NUJP chairman
09167512522

CARLOS H. CONDE
NUJP secretary general
09189425492

JOSE TORRES JR.
Commission for the Protection of Journalists, NUJP
09209010013

26 November 2004


Asia-Europe Foundation regrets the death of Gene Boyd Lumawag, the photo editor of Mindanews and one of ASEF alumni. Gene Boyd was one of the participants at a recent ASEF project, Asia-Europe Forum for Young Photographers 2003, which took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands in December, in partnership with World Press Photo Foundation.

In expression of condolences, the ASEF Director of Cultural Exchange, Chulamanee Chartsuwan says, "It is most unfortunate to hear of such an indiscriminate killing of a journalist like this. It all the more reinforces our important mission to build bridges of mutual understanding among diverse civilisations. In doing so, we also have to protect the freedom of expression and particularly of the press. ASEF remains committed to implementing projects that would contribute to fostering strong links among peoples at the civil society level."

Lumawag, 26, was shot dead while at work in the streets of Jolo, Sulu, Mindanao, Philippines on 12 November. While the cause of his death is still under investigation, we strongly condemn the murder of an ASEF alumnus who was also an active member of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism.

Those of us at ASEF who knew him, remember him for his kindness, curiosity and warm personality. His participation at the ASEF Forum marked the first and the last time he visited Europe. Upon seeing the bare trees in the streets of Amsterdam, he had showed great concern over all the "dead trees" - it was the first time that he saw trees without leaves in winter.

For enquiries, please contact:

T. 6874 9726/ 9700 F. 6872 1207

info@asef.org

ASEF was established in February 1997 by members of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). It is based in Singapore and reports to a Board of 39 Governors comprising members from the 38 ASEM countries and the European Commission. Its mission is to build bridges between the civil societies of Asia and Europe, by promoting cultural, intellectual and people-to-people exchanges between Asia and Europe, with a view to build up a rich network of institutional linkage and personal ties between the two regions over time. www.asef.org

Free speech is to a great people what winds are to oceans and malarial regions, which waft away the elements of disease and bring new elements of health; and where speech is stopped, miasma is bred, and death comes fast.—Henry Ward Beecher, American author and editor

Unless the administration of President Arroyo wants this miasma to spread, for our so-called democracy to whither, it’s imperative that it does something concrete to stop the series of killings of journalists. And if and when it does, it should go beyond creating task forces or dangling rewards.

The series of killings this year has claimed the lives of 10 Filipino journalists, the latest being Davao City photojournalist Gene Boyd Lumawag and Bombo Radyo Aklan station manager Heherson Hinolan. But the government has not done anything encouraging; a couple of suspects had been arrested in previous cases, true, but the fact that not one suspect has been convicted in the 59 killings since 1986 is quite telling.

The murder of Pagadian City journalist Edgar Damalerio in 2002 is a case study of what’s wrong with our justice system: the witnesses in the case, as well as the family of Damalerio, are constantly under threat, and the government has not done anything to assuage their fear. In fact, the government had removed them from the Witness Protection Program, reinstalling them only after media groups raised hell over it.

The government has taken pride in its announcements that it has allotted millions as rewards for the arrests of suspects in these killings. But it never made clear how the rewards system was going to be implemented. And the government just stopped there, apparently convinced that dangling these rewards would be taken to mean that it is doing something.

These killings did not happen in a vacuum. These killings occur in the context of the general breakdown of law and order in this country, where extrajudicial killings have become the norm. In many instances, agents of the government (policemen, soldiers, etc.) are the prime suspects in these murders.

In the case of Jolo, where Lumawag was shot, summary executions occur practically every day; according to local leaders, eight killings had occurred in Jolo in the 15 days leading to Lumawag’s murder.

All over the country, people in authority and those who seek change—judges, local officials, lawyers, human-rights workers, activists, etc.—are being murdered with impunity. In such a violent environment, where the vanguards of democracy are constantly under attack—and where, as a consequence, the people turn to the press to seek succor—the press becomes a logical target of the violence.

The escalating attacks against journalists are usually the result of the stepped-up assault against civil liberties. Indeed, intimidating the press ensures the continued violation of civil liberties. Our horrible experience with the Marcos dictatorship bears this out.

In their fight for press freedom, journalists cannot find a better ally in the Filipino people, the ultimate victim of these assaults on press freedom and civil liberties.

The government needs to reassert itself and the democratic ideals that it’s supposed to protect. If it’s losing control of law and order—and apparently, it is—it needs to wrest it back. The administration can do that by ensuring the arrest and prosecution of suspects in these killings, and to hold accountable those tasked to bring about justice but failed. And the Arroyo administration needs to do it fast, considering that more journalists—half of them from Mindanao—have died annually under it than in the previous ones since 1986.

We journalists have the responsibility to remain steadfast in our commitment to the public. Just as the courageous “mosquito press” during the Marcos years exposed the rot of the regime, we need the winds of press freedom to blow away the infirmities of our democracy.

– National Union of Journalists of the Philippines

Public urged to stand with media against mounting attacks on press freedom

Refer to: Inday Espina-Varona - 0916-751-2522 / Carlos Conde - 0918-942-5492 / Joe Torres - 0920-901-0013

Journalists are holding a nationwide protest Wednesday (November 17) against escalating attacks on media professionals.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Philippine Center for PhotoJournalism (PCP), the Press Photographers of the Philippines (PPP) and provincial media groups are also
appealing for public support, warning that escalating attacks against the Press usually precede or go hand in hand with attacks against civil liberties.

In Davao, journalists, including representatives of other Mindanao media organizations, will rally to protest the killing last November 12 of Mindanews photo editor Gene Boyd Lumawag in Jolo. In Iloilo and Kalibo on Panay island, the NUJP and allied groups will also mobilize to condemn the murder of Herson "Bombo Boy" Hinolan, station manager and anchorman of dyIN Bombo Radyo.

Metro Manila-based media will have sunset rites at the Manila bayfront area, followed by torch lighting and singing of protest songs for the slain journalists.

Participants in Manila are asked to come at 4:30 p.m.

Hinolan suffered seven gunshot wounds in an streetside fair attack Saturday (November 13). He managed to regain consciousness but  succumbed Monday night (November 15) to complications from his wounds. Summit Publications has denied that Michael Lllorin, a photojournalist shot dead in Quezon City, also on Saturday night, was a member of its staff or a contributor. The NUJP is still trying to probe what prompted the attack against Llorin.

Threat to democracy

The deaths of Lumawag and Hinolan bring to 10 the number of Filipino journalists slain this year, the worst record for the country. International media watchdogs say the Philippines is second to Iraq, a war-torn country, in having the most number of journalists murdered.

Baguio City journalists started the protest actions Tuesday night (November 16) with candle lighting rites and hanging of streamers outside media offices and strategic areas around the city.

Iloilo-based NUJP director Nestor Burgos said Hinolan's body will be brought to Bacolod on Wednesday. Aklan journalists will accompany the funeral car to Zaraga, Iloilo province, where Iloilo journalists will
take up the convoy until the city pier. In Bacolod, journalists will have a short protest program before
fetching Hinolan's remains from the pier and have a convoy to his hometown of Talisay, where he will lie in state for two nights before being brought to Antique, also in Panay for burial on Friday.

In a pooled editorial, the NUJP warned that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration's failure to act on the killings threatens democracy in the Philippines. By the NUJP' count, 59 journalists have been murdered since 1986, when a popular revolt ousted two decades of dictatorship and purportedly ushered in a new era of democracy.

The national media group said: "Fifty-nine deaths and so far, the government has not done anything encouraging. Four suspects have been arrested but there has been no single conviction for the killings of
journalists since 1986. This sorry fact sends out a strong message: In the Philippines, you can kill journalists with impunity."

Threats, harassment

The NUJP said the list of protest centers is expected to grow as other media organizations in key cities are also mobilizing for protest actions. The NUJP has 30 chapters nationwide.

Aside from the murders, another broadcaster, Eric Tenerife of Progressive Channel cable television in Bacolod City, reported an attack Saturday night.  Police said a gunman had shot three times as Tenerife's car shortly after he and his family arrived home from an outing. Cops recovered one slug from the driver's seat, which Tenerife usually occupies.

Hinolan's Bombo colleague, reporter Joven Anisco also received a threat following the attack on the station manager. The threat said he was next in line after Hinolan, who had recently accused some military officers of protecting illegal gambling and illegal logging syndicates.

In Mindanao, according to the local NUJP, ABS-CBN staff were harassed by soldiers in Cotabato City in the course of a Maguindanao coverage.

NUJP Davao chapter chairman, Carmelito Francisco, said reporters and staff of dxSF in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur were threatened after reporting on alleged extortion by para-military forces.

Other recent targets of threats as gathered by the NUJP include: Bernildo "Neil" Orellana of dxRJ-Iligan City - (Rajah Broadcasting System);  Achilles Zuño, Philippine Daily Inquirer - correspondent for General Santos City; Mhuck Gayeta - print and broadcast journalist in Batangas City; Manila print and broadcast journalist Mat Vicencio; Maritoni Salvoro of DYWC-AM, a radio station in Sibulan, Negros Oriental, but owned by the Diocese of Dumaguete; Victor Camion - field reporter of DYGB-FM, an affiliate of the Radio Mindanao Network in Dumaguete City and editor of local tabloid Express Balita; Nilo Baculo Sr., former general manager DWIM, - host of Isumbong mo kay Ka Nilo and lately of dwAw, Batangas.

Civil liberties vulnerable

In appealing to the public to take up the cudgels for press freedom, the NUJP said:  "The killings of journalists – 17 in the last two years – did not happen in a vacuum. These occurred amid a general breakdown of law and order, especially in the provinces where extra-judicial killings have become the norm. In many instances, agents of the government are the prime suspects in these murders."

"In the case of Jolo, where Lumawag was shot, summary executions occur practically every day; according to local leaders, eight killings had occurred in Jolo in the 15 days leading to Lumawag's murder."

"All over the country, people in authority and those who seek change - judges, local officials, lawyers, human-rights workers, activists, etc. -- are being murdered with impunity. In such a violent environment, where the vanguards of democracy are constantly under attack -- and where, as a consequence, the people turn to the press to seek succor -- the press becomes a logical target of the violence."

"The escalating attacks against journalists are usually the result of the stepped-up assault against civil liberties. Indeed, intimidating the press ensures the continued violation of civil liberties. Our horrible experience with the Marcos dictatorship bears this out. In their fight for press freedom, journalists cannot find a better ally in the Filipino people, the ultimate victim of these assaults on press freedom and civil liberties."

"The government needs to reassert the democratic ideals that it espouses to protect. If it is losing control of law and order -- it needs to wrest it back. The administration can do that by ensuring the arrest and prosecution of suspects in these killings, and to hold accountable those tasked to bring about justice but failed."

"The Arroyo administration needs to do it fast, considering that more journalists -- half of them from Mindanao -- have died annually under it than in the years since 1986. We urge Filipino journalists to
remain steadfast in our commitment to the public. Just as the courageous "mosquito press" during the Marcos years exposed the rot of the regime, we need the winds of press freedom to blow away the
infirmities of our democracy."

Gene Boyd R. Lumawag

We mourn the untimely demise of our colleague Gene Boyd R. Lumawag.  He was shot dead yesterday at around 5:30 p.m in Jolo, Sulu, Mindanao. The Philippine Center for Photojournalism strongly condemns the killing.

Gene Boyd was photo editor of the Mindanao News and Cooperative Center (Mindanews) since July 2001. He was photo correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer from January 1999-June 2001.

After finishing high school at the Davao City National High School in 1994, he took up Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication at the University of Mindanao and graduated in 1998.

Gene Boyd was an active member of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism (PCP). He was chosen by a PCP National Selection Committee to be the lone Philippine representative to the Young Photographers Forum organized by the World Press Photo Foundation (WPPF) and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)held in Amsterdam in December 2003.

[ Dream photo coverage was also Lumawag's last ]

[ Grief and Rage in the Midst of Storm ]  

Congratulations to the participants to the 4^th PROFESSIONAL PHOTOJOURNALISM  and DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR-WORKSHOP conducted on November 8-12, 2004 at the EcoWorkshop, a former US Navy facility transformed into a training center for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation by the NGOs fo Integrated Protected Areas (NIPA Inc.) inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The participants are:

   Gigie Cruz 
   Marnie Dolera 
   Amalia Maling
   Claudia Binondo
   Mylene Soto 
   Philip Bontuyan
   Bebot Sison Jr.
   Noel Celis   
   Milton Go
   Allen Mariano
   Rolando Inciong
   Arlie Nava
   Boaner Medina Sr.
   Mike Taboy
   Larry Mercado

And thank you so much to following for their generous support to the workshop:
 


NGOS for INTEGRATED PROTECTED AREAS,  INC.



COLUMBIA GLOBAL PHOTO SALES CORPORATION


 
RICOH PHILIPPINES 


SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION


KODAK PROFESSIONAL

The Philippine Center for Photojournalism was founded in 1997 by Filipino photographers/photojournalists with the goal of upholding professionalism in photojournalism.

Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, its members are employed in various daily newspapers, magazines and wire photo agencies and freelance photographers.