The Philippine government celebrated the country’s improved ranking in Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s latest World Press Freedom Index, but local media groups warned that significant challenges continue to impede the work of journalists.
In this year’s RSF index, the Philippines ranked 116th out of 180 countries, a marked improvement from its 134th standing last year.
A government spokesperson cited the ranking as proof that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “respects one’s rights of expression and responsible journalism” and that the president “is not gearing towards dictatorship.”
Before he assumed power in 2022, Marcos was accused of trying to revive the Martial Law legacy of his father, who ruled the country as a strongman for two decades until his ouster in 1986. Marcos Jr. also vowed to continue the policies of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, whose authoritarian leadership included attacks on the press. Duterte endorsed the revocation of the franchise of the country’s largest media broadcaster and publicly vilified hard-hitting journalists for being “foreign agents.”
The statement of the Palace spokesperson was probably meant to assure the public and the international community that, contrary to the initial impression of his critics, Marcos can be relied upon to uphold press freedom. Indeed, unlike Duterte, Marcos is polite in his speeches and does not berate reporters and political rivals. His government highlighted the report of the Committee to Protest Journalists, which noted that no Filipino journalist was killed in 2024.
Media watchdogs acknowledged the change in the government’s dealings with the press but they also pointed out the continuing difficulties, threats, and varying levels of attacks encountered by journalists.
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) asserted that “media freedom and its full practice must proceed in an environment free of the fear of reprisal.” With regard to the reduced number of media killings under the Marcos presidency, it stated that the low rate of conviction and the low number of cases taken to court “are clear signals of the enduring culture of impunity.”
In fact, an 89-year-old prominent journalist and publisher was killed in his home a few days before the release of the RSF index. The killing was strongly denounced by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, but it also reminded the public about the lingering consequences of impunity.
The number of media killings has decreased, but the attacks against journalists have worsened based on the monitoring of CMFR and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). In a recent report, they recorded 184 press freedom incidents during the first three years of the Marcos administration. This represented an increase from the 128 cases during the first half of the previous government.
Some attacks could lead to imprisonment, which is embodied in the case of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who remains in prison on alleged trumped-up terror charges. Her immediate release is being demanded not just by local civil society groups but also by One Free Press Coalition, a global network of press freedom advocates.
This is what NUJP may be referring to when it reminded authorities to focus on improving media welfare and safety instead of simply taking credit for the country’s improved ranking in the RSF index.
“On the ground, this does not mean better conditions for ordinary media workers, and even a plurality of reliable sources of information for the public,” the NUJP said in a statement released on World Press Freedom Day.
NUJP’s election agenda seeks to address the threats faced by journalists. This includes the repeal of criminal defamation and anti-terror laws. It also calls for accountability against officials who engage in red-tagging, the practice of linking individuals to the armed communist movement. The agenda also urged policymakers to uphold freedom of expression in drafting bills and resolutions on countering the harmful impact of disinformation.
The Philippine government can repeatedly point to the country’s ranking in the RSF index to prove that the media situation is improving but this should not distract it from recognizing that serious problems remain and that it should work harder to address these issues so that journalists can finally fulfill their work without experiencing threats and violence.
As CMFR emphasized in its statement, “without a free and fearless press, democracy dies in silence.”
