The weaponization of the law, harassment, threats, and red-tagging against journalists and media workers in the country continue, press freedom advocates and media experts said on World Press Freedom Day.
In a protest action on Friday at the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City, Samar-based journalist Ricky Bautista denounced the Marcos administration for allowing journalists to be “harassed, threatened, and sometimes subjected to surveillance.”
“Hindi tayo titigil na gawin ang lahat para ipaglaban ang ating prinsipyo, ang ating kalayaan sa pamamahayag, [at] ang ating freedom of expression [at] freedom of the press. Tayo ay patuloy na mangalampag sa gobyerno ni Marcos na itigil na ang kanilang pagha-harass sa ating mga pahayagan,” said Bautista.
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) documented 135 cases of attacks and threats against journalists and media workers since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022. This surpassed the number of attacks and threats in the first 22 months of former President Rodrigo Duterte's term.
Other media advocates present at the protest also called for the release of Tacloban-based community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio who has been detained since 2020 over trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP Diliman Chairperson Guinevere Latoza stressed that even some colleges and universities are censoring and suppressing their campus journalists by subjecting them to censorship.
Latoza was referring to the order of a University of Santo Tomas office to delete a photo posted by the student media organization TomasinoWeb. The photo showed two students wearing uniforms similar to a convenience store’s staff.
In the same program, College Editors Guild of the Philippines National Spokesperson Brell Lacerna described the current state of campus press under Marcos’ second year as “aggressive.”
“Sa paggunita natin ang araw na ito, hindi lamang ito pagluluksa sa mga kampus pahayagan natin o man sa mga journalist na kinitil ang kuhay. Ito rin ay pagningas ng ating nagpupuyos na galit upang isulong ang kolektibong aksiyon ng marami pang mga mamamahayag natin sa kasalukuyan,” said Lacerna.
Since 2010, CEGP has recorded nearly 1,000 violations against campus press freedom such as harassment, red-tagging, terrorist tagging, killings, administrative interference, and censorship.
Meanwhile, the Philippines dropped two places in the 2024 press freedom index ranking 132nd among 180 countries according to the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) report released on Friday.
RSF also noted that there have been fewer and less violent attacks against journalists and media workers, yet these incidents are “still worrisome” since Marcos became president in June 2022.
“Harassment by means of threats and ‘red-tagging’ persists, while defamation and cyber-defamation are still punishable by prison sentences,” the report added.
“Ang tanging hamon sa atin lalong-lalo na sa mga kabataang journalist: Ang naipunla ng mga nauna sa atin sa pamamahayag ay ipagpatuloy natin. Magbago man ang climate of impunity, hindi magbabago ang ating paninindigan,” NUJP Vice Chairperson Kath Cortez said. ●
