THE Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), organized to address the numerous attacks against journalists and news organizations around the country, strongly condemns the killing of Lucena City journalist Apolinario "Polly" Pobeda on May 17, 2003.

Pobeda, 35, was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding gunmen while he was on his way to radio station DWTI-AM owned by the Conamor Broadcasting System. His killing brings to 38 the number of journalists murdered since 1986. No one has been convicted for any of the slayings.

The FFFJ notes with the alarm the increasing frequency with which journalists in the Philippines are being killed. Last April 29, John Villanueva, Jr., 53, announcer of radio station DZGB in Albay, was shot dead by still unidentified gunmen in Camalig, Albay. The following day, Davao City radio broadcaster Juan "Jun" Pala survived a second assassination attempt from gunmen.

It is ironic to note that only last May 7, in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day May 3, the FFFJ held a press conference to launch a campaign involving media organizations in a countdown on the number of days since the killer of a Mindanao journalist, Edgar Damalerio, escaped from police custody.

Damalerio, 32, was shot dead May 13, 2002 near the Pagadian City Hall and police headquarters. Until today, his case remains unsolved.

The FFFJ also is deeply concerned about the deeper implications of the killings of journalists for human rights, the people's right to know and for democracy itself. The members of the FFFJ are Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD), Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), Philippine Press Institute (PPI), and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Ermin Garcia, Jr., Sunday Punch publisher, and Danilo Gozo, publisher of Philippine News.

The FFFJ represents a national effort to protect journalists in crisis and works in coordination with international groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Freedom of Expressions eXchange (IFEX), Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), Article 19 Global Campaign for Free Expression, and Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA).