“Press freedom is relatively free under President Ferdinand. R. Marcos Jr.”
THE World Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002, based on its objective and measurable assessment of the countries’ press freedom records in the previous year.
It intends to reflect the degree of freedom journalists, news organizations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts authorities made to respect this freedom.
Reporters without Borders is careful to note the World Press Freedom Index only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general
The purpose of the Index is to compare the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories.
Reporters Without Borders defines press freedom “as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.”
In 2024, the index ranked the Philippines’ press freedom as “Difficult” (134 out of 180 countries), while in 2023, the country’s press freedom was also ranked “Difficult” (132 out of 180 countries).
The Index considers Philippine media to be extremely dynamic despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment of journalists and media outlets regarded as overly critical, especially since 2016, when Rodrigo Duterte became president.
The report said Duterte’s six-year presidency (2016-2022), was marked by his many verbal attacks against journalists coupled with judicial harassment of any media deemed overly critical of the government.
During Duterte’s term, Congress refused to renew the ABS-CBN network’s franchise in 2020, leading to the closure of dozens of radio stations and TV channels, my gulay.
The 1987 Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, but Philippine law does not protect journalistic freedom in practice.
Defamation is still criminalized and the journalist Maria Ressa faces the possibility of several decades in prison as a result of legal actions brought by several government agencies.
Some journalists, Santa Banana, critical of the authorities are facing trumped-up criminal charges!
Alternative website editor Frenchie Mae Cumpio has been detained since 2020 on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, non-bailable offenses punishable by imprisonment.
Another alternative journalist, Lady Ann Salem, was previously detained for four months on similar trumped-up charges.
Mainstream media ownership has recently reached even greater levels of concentration than in the past — a development accompanied by closer ties between media owning families and political barons at regional and national levels.
My gulay, the ABS-CBN/GMA duopoly is being challenged by a third media giant , the Villar family’s Villar Group and Cignal TV5.
The report said the policy of President Bongbong Marcos, is more consensual, but the authorities still often resort to “red-tagging” — a practice inherited from the colonial era and Cold War in which journalists who do not toe the government line are branded as “subversive elements” or “red.”
This is tantamount to telling law enforcement they are legitimate targets for arbitrary arrest or even summary execution.
Santa Banana, the report said the Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, as highlighted in 2009 when 32 reporters were massacred in the southern province of Maguindanao.
In an attempt to address this issue, the government set up a Presidential Task Force on Media Security in 2016, but this inter-ministerial body has proved unable to stem the vicious cycle of violence against journalists.
At the regional level, many journalists are also the target of threats and lawsuits, while women journalists are subjected to specific gender-based threats, like threats of rape, cyber-harassment, disclosure of personal details and so on.
Santa Banana, while I respect the above assessment of the Reporters Without Borders on Philippine Press Freedom, I must say, having been a journalist since the 1950’s, it is relatively free.
It is not controlled nor under threat as in the past. It is relatively free under President Ferdinand. R. Marcos Jr.
