A prison official has refused to release a radio commentator in the Philippines jailed for libel in 2007, despite a court order calling for his release on parole, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). The warden of the Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) in Davao del Norte refused on May 26 to release radio broadcaster Alexander "Alex" Adonis, despite his having been...
The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed concern at delays in the trial of two government officials accused of ordering the 2005 murder of columnist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. The trial has been brought to an indefinite halt because of questions surrounding jurisdiction. The Cebu Court of Appeals issued an injunction last week that bars the Cebu City Regional Trial Court from proceeding...
A court of appeals in the Philippines has issued prohibited the a regional trial court from proceeding with the case against the suspected masterminds in the 2005 murder of journalist Marlene Esperat, according to the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Cebu is a province approximately 562 km south of Manila. In a five-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Francisco Acosta...
A gunman on a motorcycle shot dead a Philippine newspaper columnist in Manila on Monday night, the first journalist killed this year in the Southeast Asian nation, Reuters reported quoting police sources on Tuesday. Benefredo Acabal was walking close to a friend's house on Monday night when a man on a motorcycle shot him five times in the head and the body, police officer Lardy Ignacio said. The...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed a decision by the Cebu Regional Trial Court (RTC) in the Philippines in finding John Lloyd Ortiz guilty of attempted murder of Cebu radio broadcaster Cirse “Choy” Torralba on June 8, 2004. According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), an IFJ affiliate, Judge Estela Alam Singco issued the 29-page decision on...
The suspect in the 2004 killing of radio broadcaster Herson Hinolan surrendered to the authorities on after a key witness retracted his earlier testimony against the suspect, according to the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Alfredo Arcenio, a former mayor of Lezo town in Aklan, approximately 345 km south of Manila, surrendered to the Kalibo Regional Trial Court...
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has welcomed the surrender of a suspect to police in the 2004 murder of Filipino broadcaster Herson Hinolan, but is concerned that the move came shortly after the withdrawal of an important prosecution witness from the case. Alfredo Arcenio, a former mayor of the town of Lezo, turned himself in to the Regional Trial Court in the nearby town of Kalibo...
The air transport office (ATO) prevented aerial news coverage by a local television news network of one of the largest protest rallies against Phillipines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently. ATO declared the air space above Makati City, where the rally was held, a "no fly zone" on February 29, according to the Manila-based Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility. The news helicopter of...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern at the safety of tabloid newspaper reporter Jet Sinocruz after death threats were sent to his mobile phone via text message. Sinocruz, a reporter for Abante, received a text message from an unknown sender on his birthday, warning him to enjoy his birthday celebrations as they would be his last. According to the National Union...
A journalist and a former journalist were killed in separate incidents on Mindanao island in December 2007, according to delayed reports received by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). On December 24, Fernando Lintuan, a radio broadcaster for dxGO radio in Davao, was killed by gunmen while in his car after leaving work. About 10am, two men on a motorcycle opened fire on Lintuan at a...
