PCIJ wins award from int'l news agency
12/17/2009 | 06:47 PM
Agence France Press announced today it is awarding its prestigious Kate Webb Award to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for its fearless work in the world’s deadliest country for reporters.
For two decades now, the PCIJ, a non-profit organization of investigative journalists and contributors across the country, has been exposing corruption by the influential elite amid grave threats to life.
The Philippines is now considered the most dangerous place for the practice of journalism after at least 30 journalists were killed in a massacre in the southern province of Maguindanao just last month allegedly orchestrated by the province’s ruling Ampatuan clan.
The deaths brought the number of journalists killed in the country to 134 since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
The AFP Foundation commended the PCIJ for its 20 years of work, including a series of in-depth reports in 2008 on Maguindanao.
More recently, the PCIJ earned recognition from local groups for its research on the unexplained assets of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Another high-profile research the group did was also on the ill-gotten wealth of former President Joseph Estrada.
“The PCIJ’s body of work is of the highest standard and we hope it will continue to inspire Filipino journalists to do their best even in the most difficult working conditions," said AFP Asia Pacific director Eric Wishart in an AFP report.
PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas said the organization plans to use the prize money amounting to five thousand euros, or over P300,000, from the AFP Foundation to train Filipino journalists in conducting investigative reporting on the nation’s elite.
“The last stories of journalists killed in the Philippines are typically about local graft, local corruption and local criminal activities," Mangahas said in the report.
Mangahas said this year’s award is also a tribute to all reporters who worked courageously in the Philippines, particularly the 31 murdered journalists in Maguindanao.
“It is very difficult, almost discomfiting, to say our situation as journalists from Metro Manila could even come close to the vulnerability of our colleagues in Maguindanao or in the provinces of the Philippines," she said.
A training program will be set up with the prize money to focus on safety for journalists while carrying out investigative reports on the nearly 200 families that dominate Philippine politics.
The reporters, including those from the provinces, will then produce material to be published on the AFP Foundation’s website as well as by the PCIJ.
“We hope this training programme will help promote professional safety, strengthen ethical standards and sharpen investigative reporting skills among Filipino journalists. And, quite possibly, save lives," Wishart said.
The PCIJ is the second winner of the annual prize which was created in memory of AFP correspondent Kate Webb after she died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 64. Webb was one of AFP’s finest correspondents who covered the biggest events in the Asia Pacific, earning for her the reputation of being a brave and compassionate reporter.
The award is for local reporters or media organizations in the Asia Pacific who have produced exceptional work in difficult circumstances, or have demonstrated moral or physical courage while reporting. It is administered by the AFP Foundation, a non-profit organization created to promote higher standards of journalism worldwide.
The Kate Webb award will be given to the PCIJ at a ceremony early next year in Manila to be attended by AFP’s regional chiefs and members of Webb’s family. – Jerrie M. Abella/JM, GMANews.TV
For two decades now, the PCIJ, a non-profit organization of investigative journalists and contributors across the country, has been exposing corruption by the influential elite amid grave threats to life.
The Philippines is now considered the most dangerous place for the practice of journalism after at least 30 journalists were killed in a massacre in the southern province of Maguindanao just last month allegedly orchestrated by the province’s ruling Ampatuan clan.
The deaths brought the number of journalists killed in the country to 134 since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
The AFP Foundation commended the PCIJ for its 20 years of work, including a series of in-depth reports in 2008 on Maguindanao.
More recently, the PCIJ earned recognition from local groups for its research on the unexplained assets of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Another high-profile research the group did was also on the ill-gotten wealth of former President Joseph Estrada.
“The PCIJ’s body of work is of the highest standard and we hope it will continue to inspire Filipino journalists to do their best even in the most difficult working conditions," said AFP Asia Pacific director Eric Wishart in an AFP report.
PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas said the organization plans to use the prize money amounting to five thousand euros, or over P300,000, from the AFP Foundation to train Filipino journalists in conducting investigative reporting on the nation’s elite.
“The last stories of journalists killed in the Philippines are typically about local graft, local corruption and local criminal activities," Mangahas said in the report.
Mangahas said this year’s award is also a tribute to all reporters who worked courageously in the Philippines, particularly the 31 murdered journalists in Maguindanao.
“It is very difficult, almost discomfiting, to say our situation as journalists from Metro Manila could even come close to the vulnerability of our colleagues in Maguindanao or in the provinces of the Philippines," she said.
A training program will be set up with the prize money to focus on safety for journalists while carrying out investigative reports on the nearly 200 families that dominate Philippine politics.
The reporters, including those from the provinces, will then produce material to be published on the AFP Foundation’s website as well as by the PCIJ.
“We hope this training programme will help promote professional safety, strengthen ethical standards and sharpen investigative reporting skills among Filipino journalists. And, quite possibly, save lives," Wishart said.
The PCIJ is the second winner of the annual prize which was created in memory of AFP correspondent Kate Webb after she died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 64. Webb was one of AFP’s finest correspondents who covered the biggest events in the Asia Pacific, earning for her the reputation of being a brave and compassionate reporter.
The award is for local reporters or media organizations in the Asia Pacific who have produced exceptional work in difficult circumstances, or have demonstrated moral or physical courage while reporting. It is administered by the AFP Foundation, a non-profit organization created to promote higher standards of journalism worldwide.
The Kate Webb award will be given to the PCIJ at a ceremony early next year in Manila to be attended by AFP’s regional chiefs and members of Webb’s family. – Jerrie M. Abella/JM, GMANews.TV
