President Rodrigo Duterte opened his six-year presidency with a threat – that journalists are not exempted from assassination “if you’re a son of bitch” – about a month before he was inaugurated into power. This cemented his hostility towards the media. And it did not end here.
“As a state-run news agency, PNA should observe the ethical standards of journalism, as government resources should be utilized for the public good.”
“We reiterate our call for public officials to be more circumspect in their declarations and stop blaming the media whenever they receive flak for their irresponsible statements,” Northern Dispatch said in a statement.
Filipino journalists commemorated World Press Freedom Day with a warning against the increasing attacks against the Philippine independent media and concerns on the upcoming elections.
A month before the elections, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) relaunched its Media Safety Office on April 13 as attacks against the Philippine press persist.
“The state would not want the people to have their own voices, much less talk about issues such as human rights, right to self-determination, to development, to land.”
Sweden-based Qurium Media Foundation released their internal forensic investigation on the three-month long distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) against Philippine media, tracing it to a group of Filipino hackers that were earlier hailed by the government’s counterinsurgency arm as “a group of computer geniuses.”
A group of Filipino journalists has assailed the series of cyber-attacks that have been targeting the Philippine media and called on government agencies to investigate and stop these attacks.
Journalists and families and supporters of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre commemorated the 12th year since the single deadliest attack on the media, saying that they remain vigilant as they continue to seek justice.
AlterMidya has since been providing a platform for the marginalized in its reporting, and has been consistent in defending press freedom.
“It is my fervent prayer and wish that the highest court of this land will give due cognizance of my inviolable right as a Filipino and hold to account all those who have caused me untold trauma up to this day.”