National Press Club ‘earliest’ to report on financial aid to Maguindanao massacre kin, says official
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2019 11:47:28 +0000
THE National Press Club (NPC) welcomed Malacañang’s call for an audit of the government’s financial aid to media organizations for families of victims of the Maguindanao massacre in 2009.
Communications Undersecretary and Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) Executive Director Joel Egco previously said that his office sent letters to media organizations, including the NPC, asking them to submit “detailed accounting and financial reports” of monetary grants for public scrutiny. The request came from a Socsksargen (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos) Press Club resolution.
Other media groups that were asked to submit financial reports to the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and the offices of the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives and to post on social media were the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Philippine Press Institute, Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc., Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Committee to Protect Journalists, International Media Support, and the Mindanao Independent Press Council.
“Tama lang yun, dapat lang naman (It was just rightfully due),” NPC President Rolly Gonzalo said in a phone interview with The Manila Times.
“I don’t know kung sinong pinatutukuyan nitong Socsksargen [Press Club] na dapat ay mag-report kung magkano na ang nakolekta nila at kung saan napunta. Yun ang importante. Of course, may karapatan yung mga pamilya ng mga biktima na malaman kung saan napunta (I don’t know who the Socsksargen [Press Club] is referring to that needs to report how much was collected and where it went. That’s what’s important. Of course, the families of the victims have the right to know where the funds went),” Gonzalo said.
While the NPC has yet to receive a copy of the letter, its Vice President Paul Gutierrez said the NPC was the earliest media organization to comply when it submitted documents detailing financial assistance to families of the massacre victims at the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) on December 2018.
“Nag-comply na kami di ba (We have already complied), with the hope na susunod na yung iba (that others would follow). We decided to take the first step when we were informed around October 2018, may panawagan na mga (there had been a call for) media groups sa Mindanao and also the victims’ families,” Gutierrez said in a text message to The Manila Times.
Meanwhile, Gonzalo said that the NPC did not solicit for local or international financial grants for the Maguindanao massacre. He said the financial assistance the NPC initially extended to families of Maguindanao massacre victims in 2009 came from the club’s funds and other fund-raising activities.
“May konting pondo na naitabi kasi nagkaroon kami, sa pagkakatanda ko, meron yata kaming ginawang concert dati. May konting natira so sa pangyayaring yan, yung Maguindanao massacre, kami ay nagpunta roon sa General Santos,” Gonzalo said.
(We had a small fund, in my recollection, we had a fund-raising concert and extended the remaining funds to families of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre when we went to General Santos [immediately after the incident].)
“Wala naman kaming na-i-ambag na malaki kasi wala namang pondo o anuman itong [NPC] kaya solicit kung kani-kanino,” Gonzalo said.
(We were not able to contribute much because NPC doesn’t have that much fund, only from solicitation from people),” Gonzalo added.
Some children of the Maguindanao massacre victims were also included in the NPC regular “scholarship program” extended to the organization’s members who have difficulty in sending their children to school, Gonzalo said.
“Hindi naman actually scholarship pero konting tulong lang sa mga anak ng miyembro ng National Press Club na di kayang pag-aralin ang kanilang mga anak, so merong mga anak ng Ampatuan massacre victims na binibigyan din namin ng tulong,” Gonzalo said.
(It’s not actually a scholarship, we’re only extending a small amount to children of NPC members who need help in sending their children to school, so there are Ampatuan massacre victims among those.)
He said that the NPC’s scholarship program only provided P5,000 per student per semester from the club’s regular fund-raising activities.
The Maguindanao massacre in November 2009 claimed the lives of 58 individuals including 32 media workers. Members of the Ampatuan clan, who are allegedly behind the killings, are currently facing criminal charges.
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