Southern Leyte media offer candles, prayers to fallen comrades

Maasin City (3 December) -- By nightfall today, December 2, thirty (30) candles were lit at the base of the Rizal monument in the Anatalio Gaviola Plaza here by members of the Associated Media of Southern Leyte (AMSL).

The gesture was meant to symbolize the group's fraternal solidarity with those who died in the line of duty in the infamous Maguindanao massacre on November 23, in which at least thirty Journalists were reported killed.

Wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with the message "Stop killing Journalists" with a ribbon design, the letters and the ribbon printed in white, the group, numbering more than ten individuals, led by AMSL President and Inquirer Correspondent Jani Arnaiz, kept vigil for about thirty minutes, from 5:00 to 5:30 PM.

"May the soul of our colleagues be at peace, and justice for their untimely deaths be served," prayed Digo Credo, a freelance radio reporter.

As the minutes wore on, Arnaiz noted that not a single candle was extinguished despite some soft blowing breeze that every now and then fills the air.

Curious onlookers and passers-by, students, and the general public cannot help but pause for a moment, then look at the lighted candle and the huddled local press, an unusual sight that readily catches attention, read the T-shirts, and nod in affirmation, apparently aware of the significance of the low-key activity.

Among the members of the local media who joined the brief prayer vigil and candle lighting were Nick Lanugon and Aurora Salazar of radio station DYDM, Jade Nombrado of Southern Leyte Balita (SLB) and DYDM, Angei Book of Southern Leyte Times (SLT), Aida Morsen Info Officer of Cong. Mercado's Office, Monching Buyser of DYDM, Credo, Arnaiz, Erna Gorne, PIA Infocen Manager, Rebecca Cadavos,PIA, and this writer. (By BONG PEDALINO, PIA-Southern Leyte)

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