The Philippines slid down two spots on the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index and ranked 134th out of 180 countries and territories this year.
“The Philippine media are extremely dynamic despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment of journalists and media outlets regarded as overly critical, especially since 2016, when Rodrigo Duterte became president,” read the report.
Last 2023, the Philippines hit its highest freedom ranking in six years after it soared 15 spots as President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. marked his first year in office. The media watchdog noted him as more cordial and had loosened constraints on the media compared to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who was named by the RSF as a ‘press freedom predator’.
“Since Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. – the son of former dictator and historic press freedom predator, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. – became president in June 2022, there seem to have been fewer and less violent attacks of this kind, but they are still worrisome. Harassment by means of threats and ‘red-tagging’ persists, while defamation and cyber-defamation are still punishable by prison sentences,” it added.
At an April 15 Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum, Marcos Jr. said his administration is “steadfast in adhering to our shared mission of advancing the welfare of the Filipinos and nurturing a truly free and safe environment for all journalists.”
“It’s easy to believe Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s pronouncements about press freedom if killers of journalists have been brought to justice, if Frenchie Mae Cumpio has been released, if red-tagging has stopped, if libel has been decriminalized, if the order to block websites has been junked and other ifs, which, to this day, remain undone,” said NUJP in a statement on April 16, in reaction to Marcos Jr’s statement at FOCAP.
The situation on the ground is far from ideal, said NUJP.
Based on the incidents recorded by the Center Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the 135 incidents of attacks and threats against media workers took place from July 2022 to April 30, 2024, exceeded the number of attacks and threats in the first 22 months of Duterte.
75 of these are cases of intimidation, including 45 cases of red-tagging and 19 cases of surveillance. There were also eight journalists charged with libel and cyber libel. Four of the five arrests recorded during the period were for past cyber libel charges.
Journalist killings recorded during the period included the deaths of Rey Blanco on 18 September 2022, Percy Lapid on 3 October 2022, and Cresencio Bundoquin on 30 May 2023.
Like in previous years, the country’s press freedom situation remained difficult for journalists. RSF and media watchdogs believe attacks and harassment against the Philippine press are still worrisome today.
The decrease in the country’s overall score was due to the lower score in four out of five indicators: political (from 43.96 to 36.14), economic (from 40.20 to 37.11), legislative (from 52.20 to 47.48) and social (from 57.39 to 51.64). Its score in terms of security improved from 37.30 to 44.44, obtaining a score of 43.36 out of 100, falling off from the last year’s 46.21.
The RSF report noted that some journalists critical of authorities are facing trumped-up charges, citing the case of alternative media editor Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained since 2020 on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Another journalist, Lady Ann Salem, was also previously detained for three months on similar trumped-up charges. While the cases against Salem were dismissed, the Office of the Solicitor General under Marcos Jr. appealed the dismissal of these cases.
RSF stated that mainstream media ownership has recently reached even greater levels of concentration than in the past, explicitly citing ABS-CBN’s venture agreement with Prime Media and the entry of the Villar group in the broadcast industry, even more worrying as the growing influence of Martin Romualdez, the speaker of House of Representatives and the cousin of PBBM, was becoming evident.
CNN Philippines, the only known predominantly English-language channel on free TV in the country, also promptly shut down due to financial losses. The social media accounts and the network’s website were completely erased, leaving no trace of its previous contents and published stories and articles.
Furthermore, during Duterte’s term, congress refused to renew the ABS-CBN network’s franchise in 2020, leading to the closure of dozens of radio stations and TV channels but continued to broadcast online.
“The Internet and social media offer a space where many independent media can work freely but their economic viability is uncertain,” the report added.
On the other hand, based on the report, only eight countries were classified as “good.” 37 were classified as “satisfactory,” 51 “problematic,” 49 “difficult” and 36 “very serious.”
Norway again topped the list with a score of 91.89, followed by Denmark (89.5), Sweden (88.32), Netherlands (87.73), Finland (86.55), Estonia (86.44), Portugal (85.9), Ireland (85.59), Switzerland (84.01) and Germany (83.84).
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the list was Eritrea (16.64), followed by Syria (17.41), Afghanistan (19.09), North Korea (20.66), Iran (21.3), Turkmenistan (22.01), Vietnam (22.31), Bahrain (23.21), China (23.36) and Myanmar (24.41).
In Southeast Asia, ahead of the Philippines are Timor-Leste ranked 20th, Thailand 87th, Malaysia at 107th, Indonesia at 111th, Brunei at 117th and Singapore at 126th. Following the Philippines in the list are Cambodia at 151, Laos at 153, Myanmar at 171 and Vietnam at 174.
