JOURNALISTAT RISK

16 I PJR SEPTEMBER 1991

JOURNALISTSAT RISK

re journalists an endangered species in the Philippines?

Noi quite, but the 82 who were killed since 1986 indicate

how journalists can become vulnerable victims of the vio-

lence they cover.fne nmng of journalists in the Philippines has re-

ceived attention ofvarious g"orrpt abroad, especially those concerned with'

ift. p"o*otion of press freedom and the protection of the welfare of

j ouriali s ts all over ihe world. Given the backglound tlf :l!t:1t^:-:f:::]t".:* ^ +L ̂ -,,*har h q d spf. off an alarm about a new envrron-a*iog th" pastregime, the numberhad set off* ulTt

#"t?#"iJ Ut [ft. new goverlunent which proclaimed its commitment to

democratic space.In the following compilation, Dolores Ll. Amor breaks down the 32

cases as to the "..rJt

t and motives for the murders, whetherinsurgency-

related,job-connected or perpetrated for Pirely personal issues' She also

presents an update on the prosecution ofthe cases'

Her findings suggest Chat the risks to the journalists are those which

inhere in a social land-scape of conflict and violence. The official repressive

policies to intimidate and coerce those who would challenge the rich and

iowerful may be gone. But the g'n remains a common instrument, used

u tittt" too casualiy to make a statement, to settle an argument and, yes,

to silence an opponent or an enemy. The forces oflaw and order seem woe-

fJty inert in tnl face of rising crime, and many dare to take the law into

their own hands.As this issue went to press, a fearful wave of violent crime riveted

medii and publlc attention. The senselessness of the murders sounded an

alarm among citizens. The fact that the victims of sensational killings

(the vizconde ramity, the chapman-Leino-Hultman case' Eldon Maguan)

belonged to affluent families was a new factor. They had extraordinary

,.rooi."* to mobilize a vigilant campaign for justice.

Thus the vulnerability of the journalist w-grking in the Philippines

varies. The risk is definiteiy greater for journalists working in the prov-

inces. The exposure of the j ournalist is greater in the smaller setting that

characterizes the provincial milieu.But clearly, journalists are not at greater risk than any of the other

professionals or workers who in the course of their work happen to tangle

with those whose power is guaranteed by the use of guns, goons and gold

- or even just one of the three.ttt

PJR SEPTEMBER 1ee1 I 17

:f"',M:{

ADEADLY BEATFOR JOURNALISTSBy BOB DROGIN

great many people had reasons to silence NesinoP. Toling, chiefreporter, editor and publisher of

Panguil Bay Monitor.There is the governor who Toling accused of

taking kickbacks. The general he said was protect-ing illegal loggers. The various mayors and localoffrcials he exposed ofbribery, stealing public worksequipment and using police cars to go to cockfrghts.

Then there's the weaithy businessman Tolinghelpedjail as a"druglord." The religious cult leaderhe denounced as a"great impostor-swindler." Thehigh school principal he alleged pocketed studentyearbook funds. The police lieutenant he exposed ofextorting money from 52 security guards.

They were only a few of Toling's targets. Forthree years, the 41.year old editor used his scrappysix-page weekly in western Mindanao to crusadeagainst graff, corruption and human rights abusesby local military, government andbusiness leaders.Few escape his ire.

But Toling couldn't escape his foes. He was shotin the head three months ago as he scribbled an-other drug-trafficking expose in his newspaperofHce. So far, police have 21 possibie murder sus-pects.

"He created many enemies," explained Lt. Col.Credo Rubio, provincial head of the Philippine Na-tional Police. "So we have many motives to con-sider."

If Toling's murder was no surprise, neither wasit unusual. Since democracy was restored in 1986,32 journalists have been reported killed in thePhilippines. Scores more were beaten or threat-ened. Indeed, the New York-based Committee toProtect Journalists says morejournalists were killedhere in three ofthe last four years than in any othercountry.

"Journalists are becoming an endangered spe-cies," Romeo del Castillo, former president of theNationai Press Clubin Manila, complained recently."They're being picked off like chickens."

The picking comes from all sides. Ten werekilled by Communist rebels. Five were shot by anti-Communist vigilantes, or in right-wing coup at-tempts. Ten were victims of gangsters, gamblersand illegal loggers. Beyond that, like much in thePhilippine press, exaggeration clouds the truth. AtIeast three died in disputes unrelated to their work.And several were not so much journalists as paidpropagandists or corrupt radio commentators.

"They're what we call AC-DC journalists," said

'Journalists are becoming anendangered species'

Athe

Illustrations by LUDWIG ILIO

18 I PJR SEPTEMBER 1991

Manuel S. Satorre Jr., editor of Newstime, a dailyin Cebu province. "They attack and collect, thendefend and collect."

But the danger is real enough, especially fornrovincial iournalists. In recent months, an angrysoldier foiced a reporter in Masbate to eat hismorning paper. A Pampanga mayor's bodyguardbadly beal i radio reporter who- broadcast storiesabout local water pollution. And a south Cotabatopolice offrcer held a pistol to a DXKR radio an-irouncer's head and foiced him to pray for his life onthe air.

"Here in thedeath threats,"sources. Ifyou hitback""

provincial press, itjs normal to getSatorre said. 'We are closer to the

someone here, they can hit You

Iti

tt,

In a society torn by political violence, rep- ortersaren't the onlyvictims. But the perils of Philippine

iournalism rLflect the unruly growing pains of"d.*o.tu.y since President Corazon Aquino restoredfull press i'reedom after 14years of heavy censorshipand^brutal repression under the strongman Ferdi'nand E. Marcos.

Today, the freewheeling Philippine media- 28Manila-based and 298 local newspapers,2S2 radiostations and. 61 TV stations, at last count-- isorobablv the least rrestricted and least inhibited inASa. Critics, including Aquino, say it is also oftenthe least responsible.

"Sometimes... the country we read about is notthis Philippines, but a terrible cursed land in anoutlandish^ world created by the imagination ofreporters and columnists," she told foreign corre-spondents last October.'

Aquino went further in February, when shebecame the first president to take the witness standin a libel suit. In two hours of bizarre televisedte stimony, she an grily denie d newspaper.col-umni stl,uis nelitan's stunning claim that she "hid underthe bed while the frring was going on" during afailed August 1987 couP attemPt.

No oie disputes the denial. After readingBeltran's column, the furious president called re-porters into her bedroom to show that her platformLed hugs the floor. Aquino testifredthat the columnmade tLe commander-in-chief looklike a"a coward"and insisted her goal was "to seek the truth'" Her

suit, which seeks $144,300 in damages, is unre-solved.

Beltran, a popular radio and TV talk show host,has apologiredattd says he used a"figure ofspeech"a"a aian't intend to be taken literally. But hisaccount helps explain how the media often operatehere.

Although standards are improving, Manila's so-called nati6nal papers stili print rumors as fact andspeculation as

-truth. There is little digging, or

follow-up. Press releases routinely ?Ppgar as newsstories.

-Many of the estimated 150 columnists in

Manila seem to specialize in name-calling andcoffeeshop gossip. Few appear to checkfor accuracy.

?'T-irerets no professional discipline," said M,e-lindp Quintos de Jesus, director of -t!. privatelyfunded Center for Media Freedom and Responsibil-ity in Manila. "Thatis obvious when you look howcommon it is for someone to get fired from one paperand get hired the next day by another."

t"t "

l,.t"y Henares. Last Sept -Q, his popu!3rrke Mv Dav!" column for the Philippine Daily"Make My DaY!" coluln for the

Inquirer waicopied almost line for line from a Los

Lleles Times'Washington Post News Service fea-i""E o"Utished the week before in the Interna'tional Herald Tlibune, which circulates here'.tion:"ATt"iu"ottier

Manila paper noted the plagia-rism, the Inquirer apologized and suspended thecolumn. Henares was quickly hired by the ManilaStandard but not before defiantly responding thatWashington Post writer Glenn Frankel's storywas not "of literary value" and that he "had torearrange and improve his c-onvoluted prose."Henares rejoined the Inquirer last monfh.

Although standa,rds a,reimproulng, Manila's so -callednitional papers still print rurrLorsas fact did-specula'tian as truth

More importantly, credibility is undercut by"envelopmental journalism"- n46sd for the enve-lopes ofcash passed to reporters and editors. Thepiactice peak-ed under Marcos, who paid tens ofthousandi of dollars to friendly journalists, accord-ing to documents released in last year's federal trialof-Imelda Marcos in New York. The practice is stillcommon.

'lVe don't do it, but almost every other beat hasmoney going around," said Horacio Paredes, anAquino ipokesman. "The business beat is prettylucrative."

After offrcials unsuccessfully tried to deportmillionaire businessman William Tiu GatchalianIast August, for example, rumors flourished thatreporteis and columnists soft-pedaled coverag-e forca^sh. I-migration chief Andrea Domingo said she"heard" that 28 reporters were "on his payroll" for5,000 pesos ($182) a month, or considerably morethan most reporters' monthly salaries.

Domingolays now she can't confirm the rur.nor.Nor is it easy to prove widely told tales of prominentcolumnists and editors being given condominiums,cars, computers, trips abroad and other expensive

PJR SEPTEMBER 1991 I 19

gifts. Those reporters who go public on payola areoften ostracized by their peers.

Several papers and the National Press Clubhave promulgated ethics policies, but TeodoroBenigno, a respected columnist and former AgenceFrance-Presse bureau chiel insisted payola re-mains "widespread, very widespread."

The problem, he said, is partly low salaries,partly cultural. "It's very hard for journalists to behonestin a system where so many are dishonest," hesaid. "Our politicians, our elite, are not exactlyparagons of virtue."

Virtue is relative in any case. While Americansdebate whether the media should identify rapevictims- as NBC News and the New York fimesdid recently in the William Kennedy Smith case inFlorida- TV news broadcasts here regularly nameand show pictures ofrape victims. Gory close-ups ofbloody bodies are a staple; one corpse shown re-cently had pencils sticking out of his many bulletholes, presumably to help viewers trace the trajec-tory.

Radio, the most important medium, is equallylively. During the December 1989 coup attempt,stations filled the air waves with frenetic around-the-clock coverage. Some reports were dead wrong.Others were dangerously accurate.

One station, for example, announced govern-ment troop positions, as well as the vehicles andweapons the used. The military complained thatrebels adjusted their aim after hearing radio reportsof where their artilery fire was landing. The gov-ernment briefly closed two stations for sedition,including one that erroneously reported Aquino hadfled the palace during the fighting.

Such errors are rarely retracted. One reason,analysts here say, is that most TV and newspapersare privately owned by powerful families or consor-tiums less interested in public service than in pro-moting their own business and political interests.

The cost is high since only one Manilabroad-sheet, the Manila Bulletin, is known to make aprofrt. Advertising and readership are just too smallto support so many papers.

"It's simple," said Joel Palacios, a former Reu-ters reporter who has studied ownership of theManila press for the US Information Service. "Theowners can afford to lose money. They're tax ha-vens."

For all that, Philippine journalism is improving.One reason is time: Many ofthe young reporters whocover Aquino, Congress and other critical beatswere hired directly from schools in the frerce compe-tition to open papers after 1986. Five years'on-the-job experience has helped.

Also, the press increasingly is a watchdog ongovernment. Recent media criticism led to the

lation of a controversial petrochemical com-plex, the firingof Cabinet secretaries and a rollbackof gas price increases. And although Manila mediararely cover the provinces, they gave extensive on-the-scene coverage to last month's eruption of Mt.Pinatubo and the resulting hardship.

Hardship was daily fare for Toling, the ownerand editor ofthe Panguil Bay Monitor. He had nocomputer, car or phone. Instead, he pounded anagrng typewriter in a tiny, two-desk offrce. Then hiswife, Virgie, took a three-hour boat and bus trip tothe nearest printer. Three days later, she bundledthe 3,500 issues and carried them back home.

"Sometimes we broke even," said his wife. "Buta newspaper was his dream."

Ignoring repeated death threats, Toling named"crocodile mayors," scored "unscrupulous contrac-tors," and blasted corrupt customs and public worksoffrcials. His last editorial, titled "Graft and Corrup-tion," focused on "lawmen working hand-in-handwith vice lords and criminal syndicates."

Unlike his Manila colleagues, Toling publisheddenials, corrections and rebuttals. More impor-tantly, according to police Lt. Col. Rubio, "all of hisexposes are true."

At sunset on April 14, someone walked intoToling's office and fired five shots. Police have ar-rested a security guard but say he was a paid killer.

Until they can find the mastermind, they haveadvised other localjournalists to carry guns.

For now, Toling's widow keeps a .38-caliberpistol in her desk and has assumed her husband'sroie as publisher.

So far, she has accused police of illegally sellingammunition, alleged bribery of prison offrcials andreported misuse of typhoon emergency funds andsupplies.

"It is very difficult," she said. "Sometimes Ithink I cannot go on. I am a medical technician, nota journalist. But whoever killed him thought hewould be silenced. So I must continue his crusade.In fact, I'm looking for an editor even bolder thanhim."

(Reprinted from Los Angeles Times)

20 | PJR SEPTEMBER 1ee1l

MEDIADEATHS1986 to August 1991

I. NfIMBER OF JOURNALISTS KILLED(1986 to August 1991)

YEAR198619871988198919901991TOTAL

No. Killed2

116373

32

insurgency-relatedinsurlency/or illegal gambling/orillegal loggingior human rightsinsurgency/personalgraft & corruptionillegal gamblingillegal gambling/or personalpersonalright wing coup attemptIocal issueNo details

TOTAL

COMMENTS:1. Ofall the 11 cases reportedin 1987, at least 7were insurgency-related, 6 of which were perpe-trated by the New People's Army. Of the 7 casesreported in 1990, at least 4 were due to coverage ofgraft and corruption or illegal gambling. Only 1 ofthe 3 cases reported in 1991 was job-related.

II. MOTIVE

111

1o213314

32

COMMENTS:1. Out of the total 28 journalists killed (minus 4whose records are incomplete) 3 of the victims werekilled for personal reasons/or for reasons UNRE-LATED to their occupation as journalists. These arethe cases deemed as such considering the circum-stances of their deaths/and the resulting advancestatus of their cases in court. Two other cases(Krueger; Ribano) may be personal in nature butdue to lack of detailed information, were not giventhe category of personal.2. Of the 11 insurgency-related cases, 10 wereperpetratedby the NPA. The llth case is that of TVcameraman Manuel Sanchez who was killed as a

result of the ambush on former NPA leader BernabeBuseayno.

III. Job-Related

*22 Yes'._ 4 No

4 No details2 Unconfrrmed

32 TOTAL

COMMENTS:

1. Ofthe 22cases categorized asjob-related,6 ofthe victims were actively involved in anti-commu-nist activities either in counter-propaganda ormembershipin civilian security units. These are thecases of Palo; Maglalang; Palomares; Zagado;Miranda (of Davao City/Tagum) and Enriquez (ofCebu).2. The case of Sanchez who was riding in the carof Buscayno when the latter was ambushed wasconsidered not job-related.

ry. LOCATION

Davao (Davao City)Davao del Norte (Tagum)Metro ManilaCebu (Cebu City)CagayanIloilo (Iloilo City) r

Quezon (Lucena City)Laguna (Biflan/San Pablo)North Cotabato (Cotabato City)South Cotabato (General Santos City)Lanao del Norte (Iligan City)Pangasinan (Lingayen)Oriental Mindoroldisamis Occidental (Ozamis)Surigao del Norte (Surigao City)Leyte (Tacloban City)Cavite (Tagaytay City)Isabela (Tumauini)Bataan (Balanga)TOTAL

D

1o222221I11111111I

32

LUZONVISAYASMINDANAO

COMMENTS:

1. Of the 5 cases in Metro Manila, 3 were photojour-nalists killed while covering coup d etats (the 2others were Sanchez and Pacala, whose case has nodetails). The absence of pre-meditation would make

165

11

PJR SEPTEMBER 1991 I 21

the Metro Manila area the saftest.2. All illegal gembling-related killings reportedwere perpetrated in Luzon (3 cases).3. Of the 11 cases in Mindanao, 6 were insurgency-related, 2 were reportedly due to graft and corrup-tion (local incidents) while 3 are unknown for lack ofdetails.4. Of the 5 cases in the Visayan region, 2 wereinsurgency- related with the case of Noblejas still apossible insurgency- related case.

V. MEDIUM

PRINT L7PRINT/RADIO 4

Illustration by BENJIE I.ONIOC

(Compiled by DOLORES LL. AMOR, a correspon-dent for the Los Angeles Titnes.)

RADIO 9TVlUNKNOWN 1TOTAL 32

COMMENT:

1. 11 of the 13 victims working for radio weremurdered with careful pre-meditation on the part ofthe perpetrators; only 7 of the 17 print mediaper-sons were killed with the same malice.

VI. CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT

ReportersPublisher/editorsPhotojournalistsCameramanRadio TechnicianColumnistUNKNOWNCommentator

TOTAL

9*(-1)7*( -1)41 *11*81

32 (*-4 unrelated)

VII. UPDATE ON STATUS OF PROSECUTION

Only 7 ongoing prosecutions have been monitored:

1. Enciso case filed/accused pleadsguilty

2. Mararac - for decision3. Basilisco - suspected mastermind

reportedly apprehended4. Toling 3 hearings scheduled so far

have all been reset for various reasons/triggerman apprehended

5. Krueger alleged confessed killerunder custodyRibano case filed/accused out onbailLingan case filed/accused out onbail

COMMENT:

AII 3 cases categorized as PERSONAL have beensolved early (less than a week).

SOURCES: Philippine Media for Press FreedomNational Press ClubManila BulletinInterviews

6.

7.

22 | PJR SEPTEMBER 1ee1

Vicoy, WillieMabasa, PetePacala, VirgilioSanchez, ManuelPalo, LeoZagado, RudyBalani, NarcisoMaglalang, CesarPalomares, EdNoblejas, Ramon

Enriquez, Leo

Castor, MartinMcdonald, RobertApolinario, OscarNava, JosefAldeguerResurreccion, NoliMiranda, ManuelRibano, RicardoManrique, Ruben R.Arcones, SeverinoDe Vera, CesarioTelan, EddieMercado, BenitoLingan, EnriqueKrueger, Joseph

Katindig, Reynaldo

Mararac, FrankLadringan, JeanAbdullah, MahaidinRamoros, JaimeToling, NesinoBasilisco, CandidoEnciso, Nick

print/radio

printnri nf

n r in t

printprinUradion i l n f

printn r i n f

radioradion r i n i

nr i nf

prinUradio,

print

print/radioprintradioradion r i n f

n r i n f

prinf

86-05-2486-04-2487-87-06-0887-08-2787-08-2787-08-2787-48-2787-08-2787-r.0-05

8?-10-10

87-08-2787-08-288888-10-3088-1101788-03-2688-06-2288-08-1289-10-1789-11-2389-12-0190-01-0590-02-0490-02-07

90-05-15

90-07-1090-07-0890-07-0990-12-2591-04-1491-05-0191-05-26

Wire service* Reuters photojournalistprint Manila Bulletin rePorterprint Manila Hotline ?ielevision Isip Pinoy/Channel 13 cameramanradio ,DXRA/blocktimer commentatorradio

'w/ Leo Palo program ?/employed by Palo

radio DXRA staffer rafio technicianradio w/ Leo Paio program ?/employed by Paloradio w/ Leo Palo program ?/employed by Palo .radio DYVL rePorter/announcer/

Prod.man.

Kyodo News Service/othersPilipino NgayonPacifi c Defense ReporterSan Francisco TimesVisayan Life TodayDZMM/BalitaMindanao ScannerFeople's JournalLuzon TYibuneDYFM/Radio BomboDZECNewsmasterNewsmasterQuezon Times?

Northern Sierra MadreExpressnWOWSunday PunchSouthern StarDXCMDXICPanguil Bay MonitorPhilippine BuncherManila Bulletin

reporter/stringerphotojournalistphotojournalist?publisher/editorreporterAocal correspondentpublisher/editorreporterAocal correspondentpublisher/editorrepo$erlanchorman ; managerreporter/local corresPondentphotojournalistphotojournalistrepofter

publisher/editorreporterpublisher/editor??publisher/editorpublisher/editorcolumnist

1990-1998 journalist fatalities1.991-1993 journalist fatalities from April 14 - May 26

Since 1986 - 31 (5 years)

THANKS, BUT NO THANKS?"The only thing that makes attacks on neu)smendiffereni is that they are alntost aluays imrnediatelyp ublicized. by other journalist s

"'Daniio-Luis Mariano on'The Aquino Bill,'The Manila Times, June 13, l99l

A Senate bill, which otherwise intends to give legal safe-guards to newsmen against the rising number of crimes commit-ied against them, has drawn curious reactions from its intendedbeneficiaries.

The bill (No. 1822) seeks to amend the Revised Penal Code toinclude "bonafide members of the working ptess" among thosebelonging to "persons in authority." Being such, crimes and,r*..r.tltrio*mitted against them while they are at work wouldmerit gtaver and more severe penalties than those perpetrated

against "ordinar/ citizens.- Already included in the category are judges, policemen

lawyers and teachers, among others.PJR sources at the Senate Committee on Revision of Laws

where the bill is pending said, to date, nearly all mediagroups consulted either have "deep reservations" on the billor are "outrightly opposed" to it.

While others expressed apprehension over who to excludrfrom the category "bonafide working press," others averred thrbiil might "curtail press freedom."

A legal offi cer of Sen. Agapito "Butz" Aquino, who filed the bilJune this year, said still others fear that given such clout, medirpractioners might be vulnerable to "wanton abuses or arrlhinklng somewhere along that line."

In the bill, Aquino stressed such a move would first anrforemost serve as a "deterrent" to crimes against mediamen.

The recent trend on crimes against mediamen, Aquino notednot only endangers their life and livelihood, "but more ilnportantly, the freedom of the press - a sacred and indispensablright in a democracy."

Perhaps, many more media practitioners would not object t

PJR SEPTEMBER 1ee1 | 23

CagayanCagayanManilaManilaDavao CityDavao CityDavao CityDavao City?

Tacloban City

Cebu CityManilaManilaSurigao CityIloilo CitySan Pablo CityDavao Norte, TagumLucena CityBataan, BalangaIloilo CityBinan, LagunaManilaManilaLucena CityOriental Mindoro

Isabela, T\rmauiniLingayen, PangasinanGeneral Santos CityCotobato CityIligan CityOzamis CityCebu CityTagaytay City

insurgency-ielatedinsurgency-related?insurgency-relatedinsurgenry-related i

insurgency-relatedinsurgency-related,

yesyes?no2

iyes?insurgency-related

? insurgency/illegal gamblinglogging/humanrights

?

ii?

?yesyes?yesyes

;

yesyesyesyesyesyes,)

insurgency-relatedright wing coup attemptright wing coup attempt

graft & corruptiongraft & corruptioninsurgency relatedinsurgency related or personaliliegal gamblinginsurgency-relatedillegal gamblingright wing coup attemptright.wing coup attemptlocal lssueillegai gambling/orpersonal grudge

graft & corruptionpersonal/family feudgraft & corruption??graft & corruptionpersonalAabor disputepersonal/barangay dispute

i;

icase filed

i? n?

case filed,/accused out on bail

alleged triggerman under custody

?case filed,/up for decision??

case filed/3 hearings re-setmastermind reportedly apprehendedcase filed/accused pleads guilty

* Wire service - PRINT* COE (Condition of employment)

* OTJ (On the job/or job related)

yesnoyes

iyesnono

the bill's noble intentions. Wrote Danilo-Luis Mariano in hisJune L3,l99l column'inthe Manila Times: "Senator Aquino,sbill se_eks-to provide newsmen with a cloak of legal protectionfrom further attacks. As it appears to be the

-only tangible

response thus far from,somebody - or anybody _ in governnient,SB 1822 is sure to be welcomed by not a few Filipinojournalists.i

. Mariano proceeds to qualify though that "turningjournalistsinto a special class of citizens...is not the remed/ihey them_selves seek to their - and their feliow-citzens, - groiving vulnera_bility."

Doing such, Mariano noted, would make journalists no lessuncomfortable. 'Many of them believe that the increasedassauits on themselves and their colleagues i. tnt o.r" aspect of'a general breakdown in Philippine sociJty, ofthe overall iise incriminality and the cheapening of human life.

The assaults on newsmen, w-hen viewed from one angle only,may indeed appear increasing. yet, the truth is the incidence 6iviolence done to doctors, lawyers, bankers, security guards,stevedores,jeepn-ey drivers an d people of all other occupationsand trades has also been on the ris;."

Interestingly, the Code originally iisted under the specialcategory only those "vested withjurisdiction by direct provision9f l?*, by election or by appointment by compeLnt autirority" ortheir respective agents. In 1973, the Code was amended ty apresidential decree to cover teachers and lawyers as well.

-

Forhis part, Aquino said the proposedinclusion of mediamenunder the special category is "justified by the people's right tornlormatron_srnce in practice the members of the working pressare generally the ones who actually seek and disseilinateinformation on behalf of the people who constitute the ultimateauthority in a democracy.,'

Mariano would rather see things in a macro perspective, asin crimes - any,and all - resolved expeditiously, prr.,i.h-"rrt.metedout swi{tly. Only then, he argued, will eveiytody feeisafeat work.

"The dangersjournalists face everyday areeverybody else must deal with. We-are notwrote.

"But thanks just the same,

the same dangersspecial," Mariano

Senator Aquino." Ea