“The continued failure of the government to arrest, prosecute and convict the perpetrators is indicative of how little, if any at all, importance that the Aquino administration is making to stop this murderous rampage and end the state of impunity in our country.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – With the recent murder of a former journalist, media groups and advocates condemned the culture of impunity and the failure of Aquino administration to protect journalists.
Melinda ‘Mei’ Magsino, former Inquirer correspondent, was shot dead noontime, April 13 at barangay Balagtas, Batangas City. According to a report, Magsino wrote stories about corruption and jueteng. She received death threats that compelled her to go into hiding in July 2005. She eventually left journalism.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said Magsino’s murder “not only highlights the fact that leaving journalism is no guarantee of safety from the perils of the profession …it also underscores the depths to which the culture of impunity has become entrenched in our country and society, courtesy of a government that has shown only the most cursory regard for human rights.”
The NUJP said that if subsequent details reveal her death involved her former work as a journalist, Magsino will be the second fallen colleague this year, and the 26th under President Benigno Aquino III.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, a former journalist himself, said, “The continued failure of the government to arrest, prosecute and convict the perpetrators is indicative of how little, if any at all, importance that the Aquino administration is making to stop this murderous rampage and end the state of impunity in our country.”
Zarate said journalists, political activists and leaders of progressive organizations continue to helplessly fall prey to assassins’ bullets simply because no real serious efforts are being done to bring the perpetrators to the bar of justice.
Zarate said the creation of another task force is “clearly not anymore the action awaited by the relatives of the victims and the public from the Aquino administration.”
The NUJP demands for authorities to arrest and prosecute not only the gunman who killed Magsino but also the mastermind who ordered the assassination. 
So sad. My condolence to her families and journalist family. Journalist should have bullet proof vest and learn to arm themselves.