By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has called on the government to confront the continuing impunity surrounding attacks on journalists and strengthen protections for media workers as the country marked National Press Freedom Day on Sunday.
In a statement issued Aug. 30, the CHR said a free and independent press remains essential to democracy, allowing communities to scrutinize those in power while bringing public attention to the conditions of marginalized and disadvantaged sectors.
“A free and independent press is vital to a functioning democracy, empowering communities, holding power accountable, and bringing attention to the realities of the country’s marginalised and disadvantaged sectors,” the commission said.
But the CHR warned that press freedom in the Philippines continues to face serious challenges, pointing to the country’s 114th ranking in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders.
The commission said the absence of accountability for crimes against media workers has helped sustain a “dangerous cycle of impunity,” stressing that justice must be pursued not only for journalists who have been attacked or killed but also for their families.
Beyond physical attacks, the CHR also raised concern over red-tagging, vilification, labeling and guilt by association, noting that the Supreme Court has recognized these practices as threats to a person’s life, liberty and security.
The commission said its National Inquiry on Red-Tagging found that media practitioners are frequently subjected to such attacks, particularly those reporting critically on government policies and actions.
“Protecting journalists must therefore extend beyond physical safety to addressing intimidation and vilification that restrict press freedom,” the CHR said.
The warning comes amid figures from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines documenting 242 incidents of media freedom violations during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with 43 percent attributed to government and state security forces.
Ten journalists have also been killed during the period, according to the NUJP, including community journalist RJ Ledesma, who was killed during an operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental. The military had claimed that Ledesma was a rebel.
Other journalists remain detained or face criminal complaints arising from reports and commentaries critical of government officials or other powerful figures.
Among them is Bacolod-based journalist Marchel Espina, who, along with colleagues, was issued warrants of arrest last July over unjust vexation complaints filed by a local leader of the Iglesia ni Cristo. The complaint stemmed from an opinion piece published by SunStar Cebu in December 2024, when Espina was the newspaper’s editor-in-chief.
Community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, meanwhile, has remained detained since 2020 after being accused of terrorism financing.
The CHR urged Congress to prioritize legislation and policies that protect press freedom and strengthen the rights and safety of media workers, saying democratic institutions cannot function effectively when journalists are silenced through violence, intimidation or legal harassment.
The commission’s appeal underscored that protecting press freedom is not merely about defending journalists as individuals but preserving the public’s right to information and ensuring that those in power remain subject to scrutiny.
A democracy cannot claim to protect the people’s right to know while allowing those who report the truth to be threatened, silenced or killed.
ia/xf
