MANILA — A year after her official visit, United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the promotion of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan reaffirmed her initial observations as she presented her full report on the Philippines before the UN Human Rights Council on June 18.
At the end of her 10-day visit in the country in 2024, Khan presented initial findings on the state of free expression in the Philippines after meeting with various state offices, civil society organizations (CSOs) and the media.
Read: UN expert calls for abolition of NTF-ELCAC, tolerance of PH gov’t to dissent
In her report, Khan reiterated that the essence of freedom of speech and expression is dissent and criticism, and duty-bearers should express tolerance to remarks from the media and peoples’ organizations regardless of whether they will like it or not.
Denouncing red-tagging, pushing NTF-ELCAC abolition
During her speech in front of the UN Human Rights Council, Khan stressed that “red-tagging” remains a serious threat to civil society in the Philippines.
“The overall aim of such vilification, harassment, threats and violence is to intimidate and chill expression,” she said, adding that the practice of tagging delegitimizes human rights work which ultimately weakens public trust. “It makes it difficult for critical voices to influence public opinion and it reduces the free flow and diversity of information and ideas which are essential for a healthy and dynamic democracy.”
She said that although the practice was particularly rampant, both online and offline, during the previous administration, red-tagging has continued under the current administration because of the state’s inaction.
“More than 450 red-tagging incidents were identified in the first half of 2024 alone,17 percent of which targeted young people and 61 percent of which were attributed to government actors,” Khan said, explaining that there is considerable evidence that red-tagging is being used by security forces as part of their strategy to counter terrorism.
She also highlighted how an important issue that must be addressed firmly by the Government is the role played by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in red-tagging.
Khan questioned the need to retain the NTF-ELCAC which was established by the previous administration under a different political context, considering its ruinous effect on their human rights, including the right to freedom of expression.
She said that the Philippine government had briefly told her how it has been considering the task force into a peacebuilding entity, Khan expressed her doubt whether an entity that is widely considered to have been a major source of vilification, threats and harassment can transform itself into a credible peacebuilder.
“For the sake of human rights, including freedom of expression, and peaceful reconciliation and because of the importance of decisively turning the page on past violations, the Government should consider the abolition of the task force,” Khan said.
Instead, she recommends for the Philippine government to establish a policy in which it denounces the vilification and harassment of civil society actors to signify that it does not encourage and condone such practices.
Referencing the Supreme Court decision last May 2024 which stated how red-tagging threatens a person’s right to life, liberty, or security, she said that the government should act on that decision and eliminate the practice totally. “Such a policy would send a clear message to all State agencies while reassuring civil society and the public about the Government’s good intentions.”
Addressing culture of Impunity
During her visit last year, Khan was able to meet with dozens of individuals who were targets of red-tagging, including the remaining members of Tacloban 5 still in detention: female journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and activists Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abinguna.
Until now, Khan has remained to be the only international visitor allowed by the Philippine government to visit Cumpio, Domequil and Abinguna. Even the recent attempts of global watchdogs from Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Free Press Unlimited have been denied entry to the jail facility due to “further documentary requirements.”
Read: Global media watchdogs question disallowed visit to detained Filipino journalist
“The Tacloban cases are emblematic of a wider pattern in cases involving red-tagging, where the pace of judicial procedures is remarkably slow,” Khan said, adding how the lack of any sense of urgency in resolving such cases is a ‘travesty of justice’ which equates the innocent with the guilty.
“Promptly release Ms. Cumpio, Ms. Domequil and Mr. Abinguna and, considering the circumstances of their arrests and the time that they have already spent in detention, dismiss the charges brought against them as manifestly unfounded.”
She also raised concerns on the slow pace of the investigation on journalist-related cases, despite news showing that perpetrators of such cases have already been identified.
Khan said that the Presidential Task Force on Media Security indicated that out of a total of 203 reported killings for the period from 1987 to January 2024, 50.25% had been resolved. However, data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) showed that out of the 117 journalists killed over the last 30 years, only 10 cases have been resolved.
“Prompt, effective, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigation, as required under international standards, is all the more critical when the perpetrator is a high-ranking
government official – as it was, notably, in the cases of journalists Percival Mabasa and Gerry Ortega,” Khan said
Khan also believes that having a dedicated special prosecutor for crimes against journalists and human rights defenders could be a useful way to address impunity and to ensure better collection of evidence as well as higher rates of conviction.
“Impunity encourages attacks on journalists. Playing with statistics is not an effective response to the problem of impunity and will only aggravate the safety of journalists.”
Media freedom
The special rapporteur also raised concerns on how different laws have been used as a direct form of censorship in the Philippines.
An example would be the June 2022 memo of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which ordered the blocking of websites of alternative online news organizations because of their alleged links to terrorists.
“Unlawful restrictions have an impact not only on the affected outlets but also on the public’s right to information,” Khan said.
The Human Rights Council had also expressed their concern on the potential misuse of defamation and libel laws, particularly through criminal sanctions, to arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public.
As a result, Khan stressed that the decriminalization of libel would send a strong signal nationally and internationally of the commitment of the Philippines to strengthen freedom of expression. “Criminal libel and laws criminalizing the criticism of State institutions and officials have no place in modern democratic societies.”
Khan further expressed concern about several provisions of the Anti-Terror Act of 2020 criticized both by international organizations and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). “The act raises concerns regarding surveillance, which has a chilling effect on the legitimate activities of journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists and the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression more broadly.”
She also mentioned how Executive Order No. 2 provides for ‘overly broad or vaguely framed exemptions’ from disclosure. Instead, she recommended the adoption of a law on access to information which would include maximum disclosure in the public interest. “The free flow of information, the monitoring role of civil society and the independent media and safe spaces for debate and discussion are vital for economic growth and good governance and for democracy.” (RTS, DAA)
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