A total of 60 journalists covering southern Mindanao took part in the Project’s training on reporting extrajudicial killings in Davao City on February 21.

The training is 6th of the series of EJK reporting training of the Project in collaboration with its training partner, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. NUJP’s local chapter in Davao City and another Project partner MindaNews helped put up the one-day training at the Brokenshire Resort and Convention Center in Madapo Hills.

The training came at a time when the Davao City government is criticized for failing to resolve killings by the so-called Davao Death Squads (DDS). Reports said 29 people, mostly petty criminals, were killed in a span of three weeks in January. The DDS reportedly killed 269 people in 2008 but no one has been brought to justice.

The region is also noted for successive yet unresolved killings of activists and peasant organizers especially in Compostela Valley province. The Project published a special report in December on the killing of three Bayan Muna (People First, a party list organization) organizers and a peasant activist in the area and the government response to these killings.

It was the first time for many of the participating journalists to study concepts and definition of EJK despite having reported on these frequently. As an introduction, lead trainer Rowena Paraan, NUJP director, gave a seven-question quiz to the journalists on basic human rights concepts; only five of the 60 journalists got a “perfect score,” indicating that much is to be done to help journalists understand and report on human rights better.

The journalists discussed hindrances and recommendations in reporting cases of EJK with utmost professionalism, sensitivity and ethics. They were encouraged to maximize multiple sources when reporting EJK and were given tips in analyzing bullet wounds and obtaining clues from these.

In the evening, the journalists held at tribute to slain journalists and victims of EJK in a ceremony they called “Remembering Them.” The journalists lighted candles and reminded the public that killing the messengers is also killing the people’s right to know and protect themselves. Latest to be killed most likely due to his work was radio block timer Ernie Rollin in Oroquieta City February 23 while he was on his way to his radio station in nearby Ozamiz City.