BANGKOK — Once the country with the worst record for securing justice in journalist killings, the Philippines is improving, say some experts. But more work is needed to protect reporters.
When he assumed the presidency in 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pledged to “support and protect the rights of the media.”
In October 2022, he said, “The nation counts on media in improving access to information and increasing awareness on issues that affect our country and the world.”
In the past year, media analysts have seen some improvement. The suspected mastermind in a journalist killing from more than a decade ago was arrested; a court reversed an order forcing the media website Rappler to close; and earlier this month, Marcos appointed former journalist Joe Torres Jr. as head of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.
But outside the capital, community and radio journalists are at risk of threat or attack, experts say.
Beh Lih Yi, head coordinator of the Asia program at the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, said the media group was encouraged by some “positive developments” but believes the Marcos government could do more.
“Although the president has repeatedly vowed support for a free press, he has not backed up this change in tone with concrete action and reforms to create a more liberal and safe media climate,” she told VOA via email.
“Journalists in the Philippines still routinely face harassment, legal threats, arbitrary detention and even murder in retaliation for their work,” she said.
The Philippines Presidential Office has not responded to VOA’s email requesting comment.
Carlos Conde, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch and a former journalist, sees some signs of optimism under Marcos.
One of the biggest changes from conditions under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, is that the Marcos administration is “not confrontational at all in its public pronouncements about media and journalists,” Conde told VOA.
“That’s kind of a major relief, and that’s where the optimism comes from. And so, in that sense, it has improved,” he said.
Under Duterte’s presidency from 2016 to 2022, he vilified journalists who were critical of his policies. Media were labeled fake news, and watchdogs documented dozens of incidents of attacks and threats against the press.
At least 18 journalists were killed during his six-year presidency, according to CPJ data.
Another issue for the country’s journalists is so-called “red-tagging,” in which media and activists are accused — without evidence — by political figures, state security and others of being terrorists or communists.
Those targeted are often people critical of government or political party policies. And being red tagged makes them a more prominent target for threats, harassment and violence, experts say.
A report by Amnesty in October found the practice still happening under the new administration. Amnesty said the tactic has been used to target human rights activists, students and student journalists.
Marcos has denied the government is involved in red tagging and said the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict — an agency alleged to be involved in the red-tagging operations — will not be closed.
But Conde hopes red tagging will stop under Torres.
He will head the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, a government agency set up to protect media workers and promote press freedom.
When he was a journalist, Torres wrote for outlets including The Manila Times and spoke with Conde on a YouTube podcast earlier this month about red tagging.
“[Torres] made a promise that the office will no longer be red-tagging journalists or accusing them of having communist links and things like that. So, that is definitely something,” Conde told VOA.
Some progress too has been made in the cases of journalists killed for their work.
In September, former Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes surrendered to authorities over the killing of environmental journalist Gerry Ortega, who was shot and killed in 2011. At the time, he was investigating apparent corruption involving Reyes, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
Reyes is the suspected mastermind. The trial, scheduled to start in November, has been welcomed by media groups.
“The Philippines persistently fares poorly in CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, an annual ranking which lists countries where killers of journalists go free,” CPJ’s Beh said via email.
The Philippines ranks ninth in the impunity index.
With Ortega, said Beh, “his family is still waiting for full justice more than 13 years later.”
While some improvements are seen in the capital, Jonathan de Santos, chair of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said that for radio and community journalists, the risks are high.
“There is a perception that the press freedom situation has improved, and maybe it has in Metro Manila, but journalists in the regions, especially those from community and alternative media, are still under threat,” he told VOA.
“Apart from the safety and security aspects, radio journalists have also historically not been paid well, which is an added risk for them. Radio is also where a lot of hard-hitting commentary is done, which puts radio journalists at risk of retaliation,” he added.
In October, radio journalist Maria Vilma Rodriguez was shot and killed near her home in Zamboanga City on Mindanao island. Police say the suspect was a relative of Rodriguez who had a land dispute with the 56-year-old.
The Philippines ranks 134 out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment.
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