2010 Elections: ‘Caught in the Middle’: A Journalist Witnesses Violence in Lanao del Sur

By RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA / Kodao Productions / Bulatlat.com

I was caught in the middle of a gunfight that lasted hours in Tugaya, Lanao del Sur while covering the country’s first-ever automated elections. I don’t know if being ‘caught in the middle’ is a correct description because I was there as a journalist and had prior knowledge that that town is a poll hotspot. But I use it nonetheless because I did not want the gunfight to happen, much less witness it up close.

A disservice to Ampatuan Massacre victims

By RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA

Something happened during the National Interfaith Mission for Peace and Justice visit to the massacre site in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao, last January 23 that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. As an “embedded” Bulatlat correspondent in the mission from Cotabato City, I, along with my Kodao and Pinoy Weekly colleagues, had no inkling that something was wrong when we started out that day.

Philippines improves ranking in Press Freedom Index

Reporters Without Borders today released its Press Freedom Index for 2009. In it, the Philippines ranks 122, compared to last year’s 139. This suggests that press freedom in the Philippines has improved, regardless of the many killings, attacks and intimidation being faced by Filipino journalists. But over the years, the country’s rankings in the index indicate a worsening of press freedom.

Welcome to Bulatlat’s group blog

Welcome to “On the Fringes,” the group blog of the staff of Bulatlat.com.

Here, the staff of one of Philippines’s most credible alternative online publications will blog about people’s issues that are rarely tackled in the mainstream press. This blog will complement Bulatlat’s reporting, featuring posts and stories that cannot be found in the main site.

We hope this blog would encourage dialogue between the staff and our readers.

Enjoy your visit.

Benjie Oliveros
Managing editor