‘Marcos committed to keep journalists safe’

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is committed to the protection and safety of members of the media in the country, Malacañang’s task force on media security said after a survey found the Philippine media landscape “largely grim” due to persistent attacks.

Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) Executive Director Paul Gutierrez said the decision of Marcos to support the task force’s continued operations under his watch is a testament to the current administration’s dedication protect media workers’ rights.

“The decision of President Marcos Jr. to continue with the PTFoMS is the clearest demonstration of his administration’s commitment to the strengthening of our democracy and sustaining an environment that is safe and secure for all members of the press,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

“The corollary aim is to ensure that all transgressors of media rights are made accountable before the law,” he added.

Gutierrez issued the statement to refute the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s (RISJ) report that the Philippines’ media landscape remained “largely grim” even after the end of the six-year term of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In its 2023 Digital News Report, the RISJ said there were 75 press freedom violations under the administration of Marcos, including the death of hard-hitting radio commentator Percival Mabasa last October.

Earlier this month, another journalist, Cris Bundoquin, was gunned down in Oriental Mindoro, making him the third journalist killed under Marcos’ presidency.

Journalists from mainstream and alternative networks also faced persistent red-tagging or the act of linking people and groups to communist rebels.

But Gutierrez dismissed the allegations, saying that the supposed escalation of attacks was not data-based.

“How can the Philippine media environment be described as ‘grim’ when the perpetrators of even sensational cases are identified and charged in court?” Gutierrez said, stressing that reports of threats and harassment against media workers should be treated with caution.

“Experience shows that in most cases, the threats and harassments are due to personal reasons involving a reporter and the subject of an adverse commentary or news report. However, some quarters active in the international scene habitually report these incidents as added ‘proof’ of our shrinking democratic space,” he added.

Based on the PTFoMS’ monitoring, there are 195 reported media killings between 1986 and June 2023.

Around 21 cases were reported under then President Corazon Aquino; 11 under President Fidel Ramos; four under President Joseph Estrada; 82 under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; 40 under President Benigno Aquino 3rd; 34 under Duterte; and three under Marcos Jr.

Gutierrez said that a near majority of 57 cases have been established by probers as “not work-related,” while only 28 of the incidents have been confirmed as “work-related.”

The PTFoMs official also stressed that the number of victims appeared large as it included the 34 journalists who were killed during the 2009 Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao.

He added that suspects in about 51 killing incidents have already been convicted in court.

“Let me point out that in the case of the Ampatuan Massacre whose verdict was handed down in December 2019, a total of 45 suspects, including the masterminds, Datu Andal Ampatuan and Zaldy Ampatuan Jr., were convicted by the court,” Gutierrez said.

“Let us not forget that this verdict is also the single biggest conviction of suspects in the attack against journalists anywhere in the world. As far back then in 2019, the decision already disproved the accusation that our judicial system is not working and therefore needs outside intervention for it to remain credible and functional,” he added.

Gutierrez, who assumed as PTFoMS head on May 25, 2023, also said that all the suspects in the three reported media killings under the Marcos administration have been identified and charged in court.

The Palace official also stressed that the use of red-tagging has never been a policy of the Marcos administration.

He said the reported 941 counts of cyberlibel cases filed against two journalists in Quezon province by a local official had already been dismissed by the court in February this year.

“The dismissal should be seen as proof that our judicial system is functioning and that our mechanism for redress of grievances is also working. Nevertheless, I join the campaign to prevent the law on cyberlibel and libel from being abused by some quarters of our society against any member of the press,” Gutierrez said.

“An environment ensuring the life, liberty and security of the members of the press is not only one of the country’s international commitments but also a primary responsibility of the government to its people,” he added. — Catherine S. Valente

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