Marlene Garcia-Esperat
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Marlene Garcia-Esperat (August 29, 1959 - March 24, 2005 in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines) was a Filipina whistleblower and investigative journalist who wrote a weekly anti-graft column for local newspapers. As a result of her anti-corruption work, she was murdered in her own home.[1] Her case is significant, as it is the first in the 56 murders of Filipino journalists since 1986 [2] for which the people ultimately responsible were identified, in addition to the people directly involved.
Two weeks after the killing, Randy Grecia (one of the lookouts) surrendered to police, and subsequently pled guilty [3]. Grecia and his three accomplices (Estanislao Bismanos and Gerry Cabayag, who likewise pled guilty, and Rowie Barua, who has become a State Witness) have testified that they were hired by two officials in the Philippines Department of Agriculture of Central Mindanao
Murder charges were filed, but later dismissed. The Esperat family lawyer, Nena Santos, told the Manila Standard that the dismissal was "highly questionable and suspicious," and that it was a "miscarriage of justice."[4] The case was re-filed. The Cebu court convicted and meted with life imprisonment, Randy Garcia, Gerry Cabayag and Estanislao Bismanos who admitted they were hired for P120,000 to kill Esperat.[5]
Since then, the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered the reopening of the investigation against alleged brains Montaner and Sabay, respectively, of the Department of Agriculture (DA, who were earlier excluded from the killing of Esperat by the Regional Trial Court in Tacurong City.[6]
Garcia-Esperat's career in journalism began accidentally: in the early 1990s, she was an analytical chemist for the Department of Agriculture, when she discovered that her laboratory was not receiving the funding it had been allocated. [7] Inspired by the example of her first husband, Severino Arcones [8], a journalist who was murdered in 1989, Garcia-Esperat began her public activities. She also spent two years in the witness protection program due to her ombudsman discoveries.[9]
[edit] See Also
Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines
[edit] References
- ^ Asia Cases 2005
- ^ One Year after her Murder, No Justice for ‘Erin Brockovich’
- ^ Sun.Star General Santos - Lawyer in Esperat murder case upbeat
- ^ Asia Cases 2005
- ^ February 12 2008
- ^ February 12 2008
- ^ Farewell, Erin Brockovich
- ^ Sun.Star General Santos - Marlene Garcia Esperat: Madame Witness
- ^ Asia Cases 2005
[edit] External links
- Entry on Marlene Garcia-Esperat (Reporters sans Frontières)
- Obituary for Marlene Garcia-Esperat at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
- Primer on the Marlene Esperat Case Trial at the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
- Documentary on the life and death of Marlene Esperat on CBC Radio's The Current (in RealAudio format)
- Press Freedom Groups Condemn Esperat's Murder (International Freedom of Expression Exchange)
