The unabated killings of journalists and the power that local political warlords continue to wield in the provinces; the continuous pressures exerted by the Arroyo administration on the media; the serious implications of the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court which virtually legalizes police repression on media; and the self-imposed limitations of media agencies and journalists – all of these, among many others, affect the freedom of the press (or worsen the lack of it) in the country. These problems seem insurmountable but they are not.

BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
ANALYSIS
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Writers from all over the world gathered in Stockholm, Sweden July 1 to decry the harassments and censorship that they are confronting.  Bangladeshi novelist-in-hiding Taslima Nasreen complained about the numerous threats to her life issued against her by Islamic fundamentalists after she had written about women’s oppression and the role of religion. To make matters worse, the Bangladesh government banned her from returning to her home country instead of protecting her rights. Turkmen writer Yusuf Azemoun decried the strict censorship being imposed by the Turkish government on media.

The Arroyo administration claims that the Philippines has one of the freest press in Southeast Asia. But the country has been described as the second most dangerous place for journalists in the world, next only to Iraq. Ninety-one journalists have been killed from 1986 to 2007, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).  Of this total, 55 journalists were killed from 2001, the year Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency.  This is being attributed to the culture of impunity prevailing in the country under the Arroyo administration.

What is this culture of impunity?  It is the ability of the perpetrators of these abhorrent crimes to get away scot-free, much like soldiers accused of being involved in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. But in the case of killings of journalists, which happens mostly in the provinces, these are often perpetrated by local political warlords who wield power in the provinces and who control most, if not all, the money-making ventures (both legal and illegal) in their respective areas.  Their power emanates from their control of local politics, their vast landholdings and numerous business interests which include illegal gambling, logging and drugs. Tragedy befalls anyone who dares expose their dealings. And this power is strengthened and their impunity fanned by the Arroyo administration that relies on local political warlords – aside from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and her allies in Congress – to stay in power.

A court decision with serious implications

Just last June 20, the Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Reynaldo Laigo dismissed the class action suit brought against the PNP and other government officials by journalists and media organizations.  Journalists filed the suit after the police cuffed, manhandled, threatened, pointed guns at them and herded them into buses and brought them to the police camp in Bicutan in the aftermath of the Manila Peninsula standoff.  The rough handling and intimidation of journalists were committed after the leaders of the standoff, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, have already surrendered peacefully to police authorities, which makes it more suspect.

It is interesting to note that the court decision dismissing the suit filed by journalists was signed last June 20 but was only released a week after on June 27; and as of June 30, the complainants have not yet received a copy of the decision. Why? Was it done on purpose to dissipate the reaction of the media and the public?

In justifying his decision, Laigo claimed that the rights of journalists were not trampled upon when they were cuffed, manhandled, herded into buses, and brought to Bicutan. He even added insult to injury by saying that journalists were fortunate that the police did not file counter-charges against them. What kind of reasoning is that?

This court decision practically gives the police the power to prevent journalists from covering events by giving them the legal basis to arrest, manhandle and charge in court those who refuse to heed their orders not to do so.  This is censorship plain and simple and violative of the public’s right to know.  This is the legal authority and justification the Arroyo administration has been yearning for and which it failed to appropriate through executive edict.  Remember the media guidelines that the Arroyo administration tried to impose in the aftermath of the supposed Left-Right conspiracy in February 2006, which was made as a pretext by the Arroyo administration to declare a state of national emergency?

Self-imposed limitations

Carlos Conde of the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times came out with an interesting and informative article titled “Torture: Just a Story” which was published by the GMANews.TV.  He described the difficulties journalists face in writing about torture in particular and human rights cases in general.

One problem Conde raised is the mindset of journalists, which is shared by their mentors, superiors, and colleagues alike, to treat everything as “just a story,” and to refrain from being involved in advocacy as it may compromise one’s objectivity.

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