Chiz condemns killing of CamSur mediaman
… urges police to put a stop to crimes against journalists

LEGAZPI CITY, June 16 (PIA) -- 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. (MAL, PIA V/Office of Sen. Escudero)