GRSJ224/Press Freedom In The Philippines

According to the 2018 Southeast Asia Media report, the Philippines received a score of 7.7 out of 10 on the impunity scale, making it the deadliest country for journalists in Southeast Asia. The report claimed that “There are no signs of any government willingness to stop the targeting of journalist and media organisations who believe this official apathy, or even open hostility, has fuelled a culture of impunity which has emboldened those seeking to silence the press,”. According to the National Union of Journalists (NUJP), 185 journalists have been killed in the country since 1986, with only seventeen of these being partly resolved. Under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration which began on June 30, 2016, there have been 85 reported assault cases on media workers. As of 2020, the Philippines ranks 136th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index.

Maguindanao Massacre

On November 23, 2009, hired gunmen killed 32 journalists and 25 civilians in the town of Ampatuan, located in the province of Maguindanao. This event is considered the deadliest event for journalists in modern history. Local media suggests that the attacks may have been politically motivated, as the journalists were on their way to file candidate nomination papers for Ismael Magundadatu, who was then preparing to run for governor of Ampatuan. Magundadatu’s wife and sister were also among the victims of the massacre. In 2019, a judge in Manila found Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., who is Magundadatu’s then political rival, guilty of multiple counts of murder. Ampatuan Jr., along with other primary suspects were given life sentences in what has been dubbed by many locals as the “trial of the decade”.

Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020

The Anti-Terrorism Act, also known as the Republic Act No. 11479, was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 3, 2020. The law was created in an effort to tackle terrorism in the Philippines, but has received wide-spread criticism from many locals. On July 23, 2020, several journalists were among those who filed a petition before the Supreme Court of the Philippines against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Several other organizations, labor groups, and politicians have filed petitions to dismiss the Anti-Terror Law and declare it unconstitutional. Since its signing, the Supreme Court has received 16 petitions protesting against the law. The Anti-Terror Act has been widely criticized by university students, artists, freedom of expression organizations, and journalists who claim that the act contains a vague definition of terrorism which many anticipate will be used against Duterte’s critics. The act is also criticized for giving police additional power to detain any individual suspected to be involved in “terrorist” attacks.

ABS-CBN Shutdown

On May 4 2020, ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ largest and oldest broadcasting network, was forced off the air after being ordered to cease operations by the National Telecommunications Commission. President Rodrigo Duterte has been in a feud with the network since the 2016 presidential election when it refused to broadcast his campaign ads. Government critics and believe that the rejection of ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal is tied to the network’s history of criticism of Duterte’s administration. The denial of ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal sparked criticism by opposition lawmakers who claim that the shutdown of the network is untimely and undermines the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Butch Olano, who is Amnesty International’s Philippines director, claimed in a statement that "Ordering ABS-CBN to stop its operations is an outrageous attack on media freedom. The Filipino people need accurate information from independent sources. The government must act immediately to keep ABS-CBN on air and cease all attempts to curtail media freedom”. Deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, labeled the shutdown a “grieveous assault on press freedom”.

Maria Ressa

Maria Ressa co-founded the Philippines news website Rappler in 2012. Rappler has since then garnered four million followers on its Facebook page while being one of the few local media sites to criticize Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. In 2020, Ressa and former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. were found guilty of libel related to a 2012 article which in which Santos Jr. alleged businessman Wilfredo Keng of having ties with illegal drugs and human trafficking. The prosecution was based on the violation of the Cyber-libel law which was enacted in September 2012, four months after the article was originally published. Prosecutors argued that since an edit was made to the article in 2014, charges may push through according to the law. Ressa and Santos Jr. face up to seven years in prison. Ressa’s lawyer, Amal Clooney, claimed the verdict was "an affront to the rule of law, a stark warning to the press, and a blow to democracy in the Philippines." Ressa currently faces several other charges related to legal issues surrounding Rappler. In a statement by Ressa regarding the verdict, she stated "When we look back a decade from now, we at Rappler will know that we have done everything we could".