THE LONELY PROFESSION

I am sorry for borrowing this title from the commencement speech of the PDI columnist Conrado de Quiros during the graduation ceremony of UP-College of Mass Communication on April 10, 2010.

Along with de Quiros, I am also in full salutation to those who find themselves serious enough tracking the field of journalism. A road not less traveled, I shall say. Or else, a road to a lonely profession. At the very least, a road to a critical career especially in the Philippine status quo.

Since 1992 in the data from Community to Protect Journalists or CPJ, 837 journalists were killed worldwide. More than 90% of these victims are local reporters covering sensitive topics such as crime, corruption, and national security in their countries.

In the Philippines, 68 journalists were murdered since 1992. Almost a half, 32 journalists to be exact, were killed in Maguindanao massacre alone last year, the worst election-related media violence in the national history. Recently, two journalists were killed in 2010.

It is a reality that hundreds of journalists are murdered, but, according to the CPJ, the suspects remain free in nine out of 10 cases. Maguindanao massacre's main suspect, former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Jr, has still pending cases in the higher court are under trials in time.

Accordingly, the Philippines has ranked 3rd, next to Iraq and Somalia, in the 2010 CPJ impunity index--a list of countries where journalists are killed regularly and government fails to solve it.

CPJ has called on the global community to help combat impunity, focusing Russia, and the Philippines, along with other countries in the list. 

Meanwhile, most recently, the Philippines has ranked 156th in over 176 countries in the 2010 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), a list of countries measured by violations of press freedom indicator. 

What has happened to our country? We are equally commended on the other side because of what our rising economic growth has to offer to the world. The Philippine economy is currently standing out among Asean countries. On the flip side, here and now, our country has been the Bermuda Triangle among journalists. We got less in showing the world how our press freedom works out, despite being a bastion of democracy in Southeast Asia for decades. In addition, we got more in telling the global community that our country, at least, is going to be a hell for journalists, less than Iraq and Somalia. What an irony it is.

The Aquino administration is in the brink of challenge, so to speak. P-Noy must give way for comprehensive preparations and actions. Making an independent committee, which would  work on and delve to the most roots of the problems encountered and soon to be battled among our journalists, is a good start. The mere fact that the world is pointing its finger to us is not a better thing to be proud of.

Despite these all, many Filipino journalists are still in the process of giving and relaying, what the hell it takes, truth from the very skin of the Philippine community to the world in a global perspective. This is where the undaunted side among Filipinos comes in.

Photo Credit: http://www.google.com.ph/