“Surveillance and types of harassment on journalists have no place in a democratic state like the Philippines that has also enshrined freedom of expression and press freedom in its Constitution.“
The NUJP called on Congress and the Supreme Court “to once and for all prove to the people that they are truly, as the Constitution envisions, independent and co-equal branches of government that are not at the beck and call of the executive.”
“Pass the franchise renewal bill and let him [Duterte] veto it if he dares. And then prove yourselves worthy of being representatives of the people and defenders of their rights and liberties by overriding his veto,” the NUJP said.
“This is a clear attempt of state oppressors to unnerve media entities that maintain a line of reportage reflective of the real social-political situation of the public.”
“The government’s view is: if you don’t want to be red-tagged then you need to condemn certain parties, which isn’t what a journalist does.”
By DEE AYROSO
In the 2014 Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Philippines was ranked third next to Iraq and Somalia.