Chiz condemns killing
of Camarines Sur mediaman
By Office of Senator Chiz Escudero
June
15, 2011
PASAY CITY – Senator
Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero condemned the latest killing of another
mediaman in Camarines Sur and enjoined the local police to get the
suspects of this recent crime against journalists.
Romeo Olea, 49, a
commentator of DWEB-FM a local radio station in Nabua, Camarines Sur
was shot twice in the back by two gunmen on a motorcycle while on his
way to the station last June 13.
Escudero said the
government should exhaust all means to put a stop to this crime
against journalists who have been reporting anomalies to the public.
Undeniably, he added, journalists help the Aquino government’s fight
against corruption.
“Journalists, like
Romeo, helped in our fight against corruption not only in government
as well as in our community. The government should exhaust all means
to find the perpetrators and have them prosecuted,” he added.
He also asked the
local police to investigate every possible motive in the killing of
Olea and not just stop on recent reports that members of the New
People’s Army were the ones behind the murder.
The latest crime
against a journalist, likewise, Escudero said doesn’t help the image
of the country as one of the world’s most dangerous place for mediamen.
“This latest killing
goes to show that even under the current administration the country
remains to be a dangerous place for journalists to live. Now that we
have a new government with new people at the helm, I urge our
concerned authorities to maximize the use of our existing institutions
to work against these crimes.’
As of March, 98
journalists had been killed in the Philippines since 2000 because of
their work including at least 33 in the Ampatuan massacre of November
2009, according to the International Press Institute.