MANILA, Philippines, June 3 (UPI) -- Some journalists in the Philippines, alarmed by growing violence against them, want to carry guns to protect themselves.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 20 Filipino journalists have been killed in the line of work since 2000, making the Philippines the deadliest in the world for the profession, the Washington Post reported Friday.
The journalists have now formed the Association of Responsible Media, or ARMED.
"We're not waiting for the policemen. We ourselves can now shoot back," said Joel Syegco, a police reporter and the group's founder, the Post said.
But other advocates for press freedom say carrying guns would not offer protection and would instead create more violence and bloodshed. One of them said several journalists who have been killed in the last few years had carried weapons.
Nathan Lee at the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility in Manila blames the killings on "a vicious cycle of violence" spawned by widespread lawlessness and corruption.
