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NUJP
Elects New Set of Officers, Renews Commitment to Serve Journalists
BY
BULATLAT.COM
The National Union
of Journalists of the Philippines recently concluded its 4th National Congress,
with a new set of officers and a renewed sense of mission to serve the Filipino
working journalist.
Sixty journalists representing 40 chapters from all over the country attended
the congress, held April 15 at the SSS auditorium in Quezon City. The congress
theme was “Media Under Fire.”
A
15-member directorate was elected by the chapter representatives, who in turn
elected the officers. Inday Espina-Varona, editorial director of Graphic
magazine, was elected chairman while Arthur Allad-iw of the Northern Dispatch
in Baguio City, vice-chairman. Carlos Conde, who writes for New York Times
and one of Bulatlat.com editors, was elected secretary-general. Freelance
journalist May Rodriguez was re-elected treasurer while Rowena Carranza-Paraan,
also of Bulatlat.com, was elected auditor.
Elected directors are Jose Torres Jr. of ABS-CBN.com, Delfin Perez of Manila
Bulletin, Ares Gutierrez of the Journal Group, Leti Boniol of the Philippine
Daily Inquirer (PDI), Joey Natividad of TODAY (Camarines Sur), Diosa
Labiste of the PDI (Iloilo City), Nestor Burgos of PDI (Iloilo City), Maureen
Japzon of EV Newsweek (Tacloban City), Grace Cantal-Albasin of PDI (Cagayan
de Oro City), and Mars Marata of Salug Valley Currents (Ozamis City).
The
composition of the new NUJP national directorate is unprecedented, in that the
provinces and regions are amply represented: of its 15 members (including the
officers), seven are based outside Metro Manila.
"The composition of the new national directorate reflects the NUJP's thrust
to involve journalists from the provinces in the struggle for press freedom and
for economic rights. They most often bear the brunt of the threats against press
freedom and of the poor economic conditions that confront most Filipino
journalists," said Varona, the new chairman.
Most attacks against the press in the Philippines in recent years have
victimized provincial journalists. In 2003, seven journalists were killed,
putting the country on the same level as Colombia as one of the most dangerous
places in the world to be a journalist. From 1986, 51 journalists have been
killed, according to the combined list of the NUJP and the Center for Media
Freedom and Responsibility. A list by Bulatlat.com indicates 73 were
murdered from that year onwards, until the killing in February this year of
another broadcaster from Legazpi City.
Most journalists in the provinces are also poorly paid and hardly enjoy security
of tenure. Many are hired as stringers and correspondents of Manila dailies, who
often pay them inadequately.
Within the past two years, the NUJP has increased the number of its chapters
outside Metro Manila. It now has chapters in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Ozamis,
Compostela Valley, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Tarlac, Rizal, Lucena, Baguio, Pampanga,
Olongapo, Subic, Laguna, and Camarines Sur.
In Metro Manila, the group has chapters in the PDI, Journal Group, Malaya,
Manila Times, Philippine Graphic, INQ7.net, Bulatlat.com,
ABS-CBN.com, ABC5 and the Shipping & Travel Journal, among
others.
"The NUJP in the last four years has emerged as a staunch, consistent
defender of the rights of journalists, a prominent voice in the struggle for
economic rights within the media profession. The NUJP is likewise at the
forefront of the struggle to improve ethics in our profession and upgrade
journalists' skills. These are our organization's core commitments and we have
largely fulfilled that mandate," said Edgar Cadagat of Bacolod in his
report as outgoing NUJP chairman during the national congress.
Christopher Warren, president of the International Federation of Journalists in
which NUJP represents the Philippine press, said in his message to the group:
"The NUJP is essential to strong and independent journalism in the
Philippines and should be proud of its dedication to its members' professional
freedom and working rights."
Founded in 1986 by a group of progressive journalists led by the late Antonio
Ma. Nieva, the NUJP is a lateral guild committed to securing the interests of
the Filipino working press. Unlike other press groups, the NUJP is not a social
club. It seeks to promote and safeguard the economic interest and social
well-being of the journalist, upgrade his professional skills, raise the
standards of journalistic ethics, carry out welfare programs for its members,
and foster solidarity with journalists everywhere.
It
has 15 working commissions, among them the Committee to Protect Journalists,
which monitors and investigates attacks against the press. Bulatlat.com
See
related article: Media
Under Fire
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