(CMFR/IFEX) – Shortly after midnight on 11 August 2005, three men threw stones at the home of Ben Serrano in Butuan City (about 800 km southeast of Manila) and attempted to force their way in. Serrano is a correspondent for the national daily “Philippine Star”. The journalist emerged unscathed from the attack, which he said […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – Shortly after midnight on 11 August 2005, three men threw stones at the home of Ben Serrano in Butuan City (about 800 km southeast of Manila) and attempted to force their way in. Serrano is a correspondent for the national daily “Philippine Star”.
The journalist emerged unscathed from the attack, which he said was intended to stop him from writing about illegal gambling, logging, and drugs in and around Butuan City.
According to Serrano, the men, who were apparently under the influence of drugs, started shouting and throwing stones at his residence at around 12:30 a.m. (local time), which prompted him to go outside. They were led by Jaymark Logronio, grandson of the local area chairman. They continued to insult the startled Serrano, when a policeman suddenly appeared, asking about the dispute. Instead of stopping the suspects, the policeman asked Serrano why the men were mad at him.
Another suspect, identified as “Dodong,” also appeared during the altercation, pointed his finger at Serrano and warned him to “be watchful,” saying “Your day will come soon.”
Minutes later, police from the nearby Butuan City police precinct arrived while Serrano and the men were still trading insults. They did not arrest the suspects, however, despite their continued verbal attacks and threats to kill Serrano, said the journalist.
Serrano later filed a formal complaint at the city police’s main headquarters, and afterwards sought the help of the “Philippine Star”, the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), and other media organisations.
Prior to this incident, Serrano was the subject of continuous harassment after he alerted the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other concerned government agencies to the illegal drug trade activities in Butuan City.
Serrrano told FFFJ that as a result of the attack, his wife and children had shown symptoms of severe stress.
This is the third report of threats made to a journalist since 2 August. “Newsbreak” magazine associate editor Glenda Gloria and “Philippine Daily Inquirer” correspondent Mei Magsino-Lubis both received death threats after writing about corruption and criminal activities in their respective communities (see IFEX alerts of 4 and 3 August 2005).
Despite intensified efforts by the government and different media organisations to halt the assaults and harassment of journalists, five have been killed in 2005 alone, bringing the total number of work-related murders of journalists in the last three years to 18.
