Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte faces backlash after justifying murders of ‘rotten’ journalists
One of the world’s deadliest attacks against journalists took place in the Philippines in 2009, when 32 journalists were among 58 people killed by a warlord clan.
Media groups expressed outrage on Wednesday at Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s endorsement of killing corrupt journalists, warning his comments could incite more murders in a nation already one of the world’s most dangerous for reporters.
Duterte, who won last month’s elections in a landslide after pledging to kill tens of thousands of criminals, told reporters on Tuesday that there was justification for killing journalists who took bribes or engaged in other corrupt activities.
Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch
“Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch,” Duterte said when asked how he would address the problem of media killings in the Philippines after a reporter was shot dead in Manila last week.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines described the comments as “appalling”. It conceded there were corruption problems in the industry but said these did not justify murdering reporters.
“He has also, in effect, declared open season to silence the media, both individual journalists and the institution, on the mere perception of corruption,” the NUJP said in a statement.
The Philippines is one of the most dangerous nations in the world for journalists, with 176 murdered since a chaotic and corruption-plagued democracy replaced the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos three decades ago.