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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.
The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Philippine government to restore access to two alternative news sites that were earlier blocked for supposed terror links, saying this is intimidation and censorship.
International media organizations are appalled over the National Telecommunications Commission’s order blocking online access to Bulatlat and fellow alternative news Pinoy Weekly, which the Philippine government accused of having terror links.
Bulatlat has condemned this move as prior restraint against protected speech, adding that this is based on hearsay of National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.
“No matter who is in power, we have remained fearless in our truth-telling. We will continue our work while we also consider all legal remedies available to question, and stop yet another state-sponsored repression."
Ansbert Joaquin maintained that libel should be decriminalized, adding that imprisonment as punishment, if convicted, caused him and his family mental torment.
“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.”
“We have much to learn and to imitate from Titus Brandsma, who defended Truth and Press Freedom until his dying breath."
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 recent investigation by an international watchdog shows how the Philippine justice system has failed to deliver justice over the killing of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega.
“The shooting and intimidation of journalists are a blatant violation of press freedom. Journalists should not be hindered in covering stories especially those that involve human rights abuses against farmers and marginalized sectors.”
Filipino journalists are questioning the selling of the broadcasting frequencies that were formerly assigned to ABS-CBN, one of the country's biggest media networks that was shutdown by President Duterte.
Filipino journalists continue their search for justice for slain journalist and environmentalist Gerry Ortega, 11 years after he was gunned down in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
“It is not only untrue, it also perpetuates the dangerous narrative that journalists are communists or rebel sympathizers for reporting that (which) does not parrot what the government says. It (is) also the kind of labeling that has raised concerns over how the Anti-Terrorism Act will be implemented."
“No journalist should be threatened for doing their jobs in delivering news and information to communities. We reiterate our call to defend press freedom and stop the attacks against the Filipino press."
For a credible election to occur, there needs to be credible media.
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.
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