We applaud the Nobel Committee’s recognition of the courage not just of these two journalists but of so many others who speak truth to power “in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.”
As Filipino journalists, we are concerned about the fragile state of press freedom in our country, especially as the 2022 elections draw near. The climate for independent reporting is fraught. Lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to silence our colleagues. ABS-CBN, the country’s largest broadcast network, has been shut down. Frontline journalists, many of them just in their 20s and 30s, bear the brunt. They are moving targets for death threats, insults and unrelenting trolling.
The pandemic has made access to information and to officials particularly challenging. Financially, news organizations are hurting. Politically, their legitimacy is under attack. But so many soldier on, bringing fact-based news and opinion in the belief that truth-telling matters, even in the era of lies and disinformation.
Press freedom in the Philippines is resilient and enduring. This resilience was forged over time, from the struggle against colonial rule, the tyranny of authoritarianism and the challenges of democracy. Filipinos have defended press freedom because they know it is their right and that their hard-word democracy cannot thrive without it.
The coming elections will be a battle between truth and lies. As journalists, we promise to remain true to the standards of fact-based and ethical newsgathering. But we are outnumbered by professional public relations staffs and troll factories. We alone cannot fight the deluge of disinformation in an election where the future of our democracy is at stake.
We, therefore, call on all those running for public office to make clear their stance on press freedom and to be transparent about their public relations efforts. We ask political campaigns to respect the rights of journalists to report freely, without fear or favor. Before his death, Jose Luis Gascon, the late chair of the Human Rights Commission, proposed a Media Safety Unit. We endorse this proposal and hope that the new chair of the commission will be true to its mandate to safeguard our human rights.
We call on social media companies to make their platforms safe for journalists.
Finally, we ask the public to support a free press and journalists who expose lies and stand up for truth. ●
Signed:
Media Organizations
1. AGE Communications
2. Aklan Press Club, Inc.
3. Altermidya – People’s Alternative Media Network
4. Aninaw Productions
5. Asian Center for Journalism
6. Bicol Express News
7. Bulatlat
8. Calbayog Journal
9. Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
10. College Editors Guild of the Philippines
11. Daily Tribune
12. Dampig Katarungan
13. Davao Today
14. Freedom for Media, Freedom for All Network
15. Impact Publishing
16. Kodao Productions
17. Manila Today
18. Mindanao News Express
19. MindaNews
20. National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
21. National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-NCR
22. Northern Dispatch
23. Paghimutad
24. Panay Today
25. Panaysayon
26. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
27. Philippine Press Institute
28. Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines
29. Pinoy Media Center
30. Pinoy Weekly
31. Pokus Gitnang Luson Multimedia Network
32. PositivelyFilipino.com
33. Radyo Asenso 106.7 Farm FM
34. Rappler
35. REGINA – University of the Assumption
36. Samar Daily News Online
37. SamarNews.com
38. The News Room Philippines
39. Tudla Productions
40. UPLB Perspective
41. VERA Files
42. Women Writers in Media Now
For a complete list of the individual signatories, please visit the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) website. This statement was originally released by the PCIJ on October 25, 2021, and is republished here with their permission.
