Int’l media group: Scrap contempt raps in massacre case – Interaksyon.com.

MANILA, Philippines – An international media federation that represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries urged the Court of Appeals on Tuesday to withdraw the indirect contempt case against an officer of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and the widow of one of the media workers killed in the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan massacre.

International Federation of Journalists Asia-Pacific director Jacqueline Park, in a statement, said the group was “concerned that the allegations against Rowena Paraan and Monette Salaysay are being used to silence witnesses, advocates and families of victims of the massacre.”

Paraan is secretary general of the NUJP, the IFJ’s Philippine affiliate. Salaysay’s husband Napoleon was one of the 58 persons killed in what has been called the worst incident of electoral violence in recent Philippine history and the worst single attack on the press ever.

The two face jail terms and hefty fines if the CA finds them in contempt.

The appellate court has asked the two to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for allegedly foisting “bias and corruption upon members of the court.”

Both had voiced concern about the slow trial of those accused of the massacre and also why two of the justices did not inhibit themselves from hearing a petition from suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government Zaldy Ampatuan to have himself dropped from the list of accused, when they had done so during a similar petition filed earlier by Ampatuan’s father Andal Sr.

The two are among key members of the powerful Maguindanao political clan who are accused of planning and carrying out the massacre.

The IFJ noted that the concern voiced out by Paraan ans Salaysay “are shared by members of the House of Representatives in the Philippines, including House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who vowed on May 23, which marked a year and a half since the massacre, ‘not to forget and to do everything we can’ to help resolve the case.”

Park also cited a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations that found 51 percent of Filipinos saying the massacre trial and also noted growing criticism for how government is handling the situation.

“There is clearly broad public sentiment in the Philippines regarding a need to speed up the trials of the massacre suspects,” Park said. “The people of the Philippines have not forgotten that President Aquino made a public commitment before taking office that he would ensure justice is served in this case.”

The IFJ also urged “judicial and government officials to condemn any efforts to obstruct the speedy and fair trial of the massacre accused, and to ensure the focus of judicial actions remains on the conduct of the actual trials.”

Despite the contempt case, the NUJP has urged press freedom advocates and the victims’ families to “remain steadfast” in their quest for justice.

“More than ever, there is a need to remain vigilant on the conduct and proceedings of the [massacre] case amid continued reports of threats against the victims’ families and legal maneuvers of the accused,” the NUJP said in a statement.

“We will not be cowed into surrendering our right to free expression for we cannot afford to be silent as we monitor the progress of a case that is crucial … because its outcome may well determine whether we can continue to consider ourselves a democracy, a nation, a people,” it said.

The IFJ noted that it remained “unclear whether the petition against Paraan and Salaysay was based on a submission by lawyers defending massacre suspects, or initiated by the judiciary independently,” citing the fact that the citation against the two “is similar in tone to comments made by Zaldy Ampatuan in a newspaper advertisement published nationally on March 23. The advertisement alleged public comments were prejudicial to those accused of involvement in organizing and committing the massacre.”

Aside from Paraan and Salaysay, another contempt case has also been filed against private prosecutor Harry Roque for comments he made in a documentary film on the massacre.