FREEDOM OF THE PRESS | Marcos pledges to ensure press freedom, transparency

April 28, 2023 , 06:15 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(April 28, 2023) – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday night pledged to work “hand-in-hand” with members of the media to ensure the protection of their civil liberties ahead of the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.

Attending the 50th anniversary of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) in Makati City, Marcos stressed the need to ensure the protection of press freedom so the media can play its “instrumental role” in informing the public, influencing public opinion, and “even triggering social mobilization and change.”

“This government will remain committed to ensuring transparency and good governance, freedom of expression and of the press, and the protection of media practitioners and their rights in the practice of their profession,” Marcos said.

He also asked the media to “lead and foster public discussion, truth and credibility, the rule of law, especially in the practice of broadcasting, news reporting and information dissemination.”

Marcos, the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, last year promised to “support and protect” the rights of media practitioners and listen to their concerns to address the challenges they face.

Despite having press freedom guaranteed under the 1987 Constitution, the Philippines ranked a low 147th out of 180 countries across the world in last year’s press freedom index compiled by France-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

RSF said the Philippines’ press situation remains “extremely vibrant despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment, since 2016, of journalists and media outlets that are too critical.”

Human rights organization Amnesty International said attacks against journalists such as harassment, “red-tagging” and libel suits had intensified in 2022, even after Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Duterte formally stepped down.

The Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) also ranked the country as the seventh worst country in the world in holding accountable killers of media practitioners in 2022. At least two Filipino journalists were killed last year, including the death of popular radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa.

Former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag, among several others, is facing charges of murder over the death of Mabasa and the alleged middleman in the killing.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) has urged Marcos to take concrete steps to make good of his promise to protect the country’s journalists.

(MM)

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