MANILA -- Many Filipinos are proud of the freedom the press enjoys in their country but this rosy picture has been tarnished by the killings of a number of journalists. With 13 Filipino journalists killed last year and four media workers murdered so far in 2005, the Philippines -- according to the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists -- has become the second most deadly place for journalists after war-torn Iraq.
Confronted with what they perceive as a wave of targeted killings, Philippine journalists are infuriated. But the angry commentaries that are published in the wake of each killing have had little practical impact.
The fact that journalists are violently killed -- often in broad daylight -- is outrageous but the scandal does not stop there. Equally appalling is the fact that none of the murders have been solved in the sense that the perpetrators have been convicted and put behind bars.