Marlene Garcia-Esperat

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.

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. Inspired by the example of her first husband, Severino Arcones, 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.

Her case is significant, as it is the first of the 56 murders of Filipino journalists since 1986 for which the people ultimately responsible were identified, in addition to the people directly involved. Esperat, as former employee of the Department of Agriculture in Central Mindanao (DA-12) and Midland Review, Tacurong City columnist, exposed the alleged Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante fertilizer funds scam, in which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was implicated.

Two weeks after the killing, Randy Grecia (one of the lookouts) surrendered to police, and subsequently pleaded guilty. Grecia and his three accomplices (Estanislao Bismanos and Gerry Cabayag, who likewise pleaded 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.

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