Alternative media group Tudla Productions and campus publications alliance College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) Metro Manila in partnership with the British Embassy in Manila, launched Lunsaran: Defend Press Freedom! Defend Human Rights: Metro Manila Assembly for Press Freedom and Democracy, a gathering of student publications and student organizations that tackled the importance of press freedom, human rights and democracy.
Keynote speaker Raymund Villanueva, the deputy secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, highlighted the adversarial but salient role of the press in presenting the truth to the people.
“Journalism is a radical thing. It begs you to say something new, something of consequence that puts you in a position to inform people of what is happening and of what import are they to the lives of the people.
Eventually, the things we learn and write about lead us to ask the questions “So what?” and “For whom?” Without fail, genuine disciples of journalism would ask themselves the questions “If not for public good, what for? If not for the people, why?”
And only when these questions are asked and their answers are acted upon does journalism perform its role and only thus can it contribute to democracy and freedom,” Villanueva said in his address.
Another keynote speaker, the first elected youth representative to the Philippine Congress former Kabataan Partylist representative and current Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Metro Manila chairperson Raymond Palatino also shared his experiences as a student leaders and the lessons on the importance of student representation and the student movement for their rights and just demands amid the apathy, gaming or social media addiction, other anti-democratic movements that the youth today is being led to.
Atty. Chel Diokno and Prof. Sarah Raymundo spoke on the importance of academic freedom.
Commission on Human Rights and Karapatan talked about understanding human rights and the human rights situation in the country today.
Meanwhile, Agatha Rabino, the newly-elected Chairperson of CEGP Metro Manila, highlighted the importance of such assemblies in advancing the campaign for genuine freedom of the press.
“At a time wherein the freedom of the press is threatened with efforts to discredit and even silence the press, now is the pressing time to consolidate and unite to forward our cause to defend this invaluable right,” said Rabino.
Rabino also added that the assembly especially placed primacy in inviting campus publications, explaining that their commitment to campus journalism will prove to be an important factor in forwarding the campaign of press freedom.
“Campus publications still retain their historical role in campaigning for press freedom. They are also the ones who feel the shrinking space for freedom of expression as they face various obstacles in performing their mandate as journalists even within the confines of their schools and communities. They see this hindrance transcending even at the national level, and they are able to discern that while in different forms, repression of media is still very much prevalent,” Rabino continued.
According to CEGP Metro Manila, the assembly also aimed to enlighten the youth on how the attacks on press freedom affect the state of democracy.
“Freedom of the press is a manifestation of freedom of expression, a sign that democracy is in motion. If the freedom of the press and the right of the people to know is challenged and threatened, this shows an alarming predicament on the state of democracy. By doing these types of assemblies, we aim to impart to the youth how important these rights are, and mobilize them into thinking for solutions and actions so that they can help be a catalyst in safeguarding press freedom, and ultimately, democracy as well.” Rabino ended.
The gathering was attended by 120 students from various universities in Metro Manila, representing around 20 publications and more than 20 student councils and student organizations.
