Government working to protect journalists, says President Aquino

MANILA, April 29 (PNA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III told foreign journalists that his administration is addressing the killing of media men in the country through an inter-agency committee.

This body has been looking into extralegal killings and forced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of right to life, liberty and security of persons, he said in a joint press conference with US President Barack Obama in Malacanang on Monday.

The President reported that of 62 labor-related cases being investigated by the body, 10 were considered extrajudicial killings.

Of the 10 cases of extrajudicial killings, only one happened during the present administration, he noted.

With regards to the Maguindanao massacre of more than 50 journalists, the President said that more than a hundred people have been indicted for the crime and are undergoing trial.

“That doesn’t mean that we have stopped trying to look for others potentially involved in this particular killing, and may we just state for the record that even when it comes to journalists, it is not a policy of this state to silence critics,” he said.

He noted that another thrust of his government is judicial reform, which he promised when he ran for election in 2010.

The government is also working to speed up ongoing trials in courts to ensure quick disposition of justice, he added. (PNA)
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