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PRESS RELEASE
April 30, 2009
Fight vs Media Killings Gains Significant Stride; TF
211 Scores Another Conviction
The gunman of broadcaster Armando Pace faced conviction
on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, in Digos City, Davao del
Sur.
The case of Pace is among the cases under very close
watch by the Task Force 211, the government body in
charge of coordinating and mobilizing concerned
government law enforcement agencies in investigating and
prosecuting extrajudicial killings, which also involve
Filipino journalists.
Judge Albert Axalan of RTC branch 20 sentenced Joy
Anticamara guilty of homicide and to serve up to 17
years in jail. It can be recalled that Pace was on his
way home from his morning radio program at Radyo Ukay
when shot by a gunman riding a motorcycle on July 18,
2006. A witness identified the gunman to be Anticamara.
“This is the second conviction among the cases Task
Force 211 has been monitoring since we started operation
in November 2007. The conviction of Joy Anticamara shall
hopefully become an effective deterrent to the spate of
media killings”, Task Force 211 Chairman Undersecretary
Ricardo Blancaflor said.
Blancaflor added, “The Task Force 211 congratulates the
Witness Protection Program of the Justice Department and
all support agencies that contributed to the successful
resolution of this case.”
Task Force 211 was instrumental in the early resolution
of media killings in the past. The cases of mediamen
Dennis Cuesta, Martin Roxas, Bert Sison, and Arecio
Padrigao last year were resolved by the Task Force in an
average of 9 and 1/4 working days.
Members of Task Force 211 include the DOJ, DND, DILG,
ONSA, OPA, OPAPP, PHRC, and PIA. Its attached agencies
are AFP, NICA, PNP and NBI.
Task Force 211 invites the public to view its website,
taskforce211.com.ph, where the details and status of all
other extralegal and media killings and political
violence cases are declared.### |
