ARMING journalists is not a guarantee that attacks against members of fourth estate will stop.

 

We, at the Unang Alyansa ng Pambansa at Pamprobinsiyang Lupon at Ugnayan ng Makatao at Maka-Diyos na mga Mamamahayag (1st-APLUMA) which I head as national president, believe that this plan would just worsen the situation and will take us back to the "Wild Wild West" days where grudges then were resolved through the barrel of the gun.

 

1st APLUMA is an aggrupation of provincial editors, writers, columnists and radio announcers and a select council of advisers from major national news organization.

 

Instead, members of media and the government should take the needed steps to put a stop to the senseless killings that have put the country in bad light in the eyes of international human rights and media groups.

 

For the journalists’ part, we should exercise self-restraint and self preservation in the performance of our duties.

 

For one, a journalist should be balanced in his news gathering and writing by getting all the sides of the story.

 

Like a coin, there are always two sides to a story and getting one side alone is not enough as this would favor just one faction and give undue injury to the other.

 

Left without means to air his side of the story, the affected camp would now resort to violent means to get back at the writer or the reporter who failed to do his or her job as a responsible journalist.

 

Also, media organizations should weed out extortionists posing as journalists among their ranks as this greatly affect the image and integrity of media.

Sad to say, some of our brothers and sisters in media are using their profession as means to milk money from politicians and private individuals in exchange for good press.

 

For its part, the government should focus on prosecuting and punishing those behind these media killings.  

 

This will send a strong signal that the government is hell-bent on stopping the senseless violence against media.

 

Also, the media should work closely with law enforcement arms of government, like the Philippine National Police (PNP), for the protection of its ranks.