Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the murder of broadcaster Joey Llana

My deepest condolences go to the family of Joey Llana.

Llana, the hard-hitting broadcast journalist killed in Bicol yesterday, is yet another victim of the dark cloud of impunity enveloping our land. And frankly, to my mind, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque's condemnation of this killing and promise of justice sound hypocritical.

What could we expect but a spiral of violence and bloodshed when the centrepiece program of government, its all-out war against drugs, gave license to security forces and vigilantes to kill?

This was also why it sounded hollow when the Palace mouthpiece talked about getting justice for Llana's killing while the police seemed to be not lifting a finger to investigate thousands of drug-related killings. They have also allowed masked killers to freely roam and litter the streets with lifeless bodies.

Naaalarma rin po ako na tila gustong i-konekta sa drugs ang pagkamatay ni Llana. Sinabi ng mga pulis sa media na may natagpuang shabu sa sasakyan ng napatay na broadcaster pero mariing tinutulan ito ng mga kaanak at kasama ng namatay.

Why are they linking his death to illegal drugs? Was it to taint Llana's reputation and justify his death? Needless to say, murder is murder and it is wrong under any circumstances, contrary to what this government wants us to accept.

If established that Llana's death was related to his work, he would be the 12th journalist killed under Duterte's term and God forbid but I am afraid that more would fall prey to assassin's bullets. Contract killings have flourished because this is the perfect environment shaped by this bloodthirsty President.

This was one of my apprehensions. That drug-related killings would spill over to members of the press prompting me to file SB 1860 seeking hazard pay and insurance for journalists on the field.

In Llana's case, we also saw the intersection or at least an attempt to overlap drug killings and threats against media to further instil fear among our people. This is not just about normalizing and conditioning the mind of the public to accept killings but also to lay the ground for subservience of the people and tyranny of those in power.