Teodoro: Most slain journalists not corrupt

Manila  Philippines — "Totoong may corruption pero hindi masasabi na karamihan ay pinatay dahil sa corruption."

[Translation: It is true that there is corruption, but this does not mean that majority were killed due to corruption.]

Veteran journalist and journalism professor Luis Teodoro admits the prevalence of corruption in the field of journalism — but this is not always the case.

In an interview with CNN Philippines on Wednesday, Teodoro, who is also the deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), said some journalists were killed due to their exposes on criminal syndicates and corruption in the government.

Teodoro cited Marlene Esperat, who was slain in her home in 2015 after exposing alleged corruption in the Department of Agriculture-Region XII, and Gerry Ortega, a Palawan-based broadcast journalist who was gunned down at a store in 2011. Ortega accused then Palawan governor Joel Reyes of misusing the Malampaya fund and of supporting illegal mining activities.

Journalists brutally killed in the Maguindanao massacre in 2009, said Teodoro, are also examples of members of the media who were killed not because of corruption.

Teodoro added, even if a journalist is proven corrupt — this is not grounds for killing.

"'Yung mismong pagpatay ng kahit na sino, including journalists, ayun mismo ay krimen 'yun eh. Siguro dapat medyo dahan-dahan sa mga suggestion na kung corrupt ka, eh, understandable na ikaw ay pinatay," Teodoro said.

[Translation: The mere act of killing anyone, including journalists, is a crime. People should not jump into a suggestion that when you're corrupt, it is understandable that you were killed.]

In a press conference on Tuesday night, Duterte blamed "corrupt journalism" for the media killings in the country.

Although Teodoro pointed out that Duterte was merely stating a reason for the death of media men, Teodoro hoped Duterte's statement will not be interpreted as a "license to kill journalists."

"Every statement na ginagawa ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas ay siyempre iyan ay nag-e-echo throughout the country and it sends a message na sometimes positive and sometimes negative," Teodoro said. "Itong sinabi niya about journalists, we hope na hindi ito ma-interpret ng ibang tao as a license to kill journalists."

[Translation: Every statement of the President of the Philippines echoes throughout the country and it sends a message, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. We hope that his statement on journalists will not be interpreted as a license to kill journalists.]

Meanwhile, incoming presidential spokesperson Sal Panelo clarified that what Duterte meant was that slain journalists must have committed a wrongdoing outside of their profession, saying that the president-elect remained "protective of the rights of journalists."

"When a journalist is killed, it does not mean that he is being killed as a journalist. That person is being killed because he has done something wrong to another fellowman (sic)," Panelo said.

"In other words, regardless of whether you are a lawyer, a journalist, a public official, if you committed a grievous wrong to another person, then that person, if you owe him a blood death, then you'll have to pay for it. That's against the law, but that is the rationale for the killing." via CNN PH