MANILA, Philippines – Nananatiling mapanganib na lugar para sa mga mamamahayag ang Pilipinas. Ito ay kasunod ng pagbaba pa ng bansa sa ika-134 pwesto mula sa 180 bansa sa pinakahuling World Press Freedom Index ng Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Ang ranggo ng Pilipinas ngayong taon ay mas mababa ng dalawang baitang o mula sa ika-132 pwesto noong 2023.
Sinabi ng RSF na “there seem to have been fewer and less violent attacks” laban sa Filipino journalists sa ilalim ng administrasyong Marcos, ngunit ang mga insidenteng ito ay nananatiling nakababahala.
“Harassment by means of threats and ‘red-tagging’ persists, while defamation and cyber-defamation are still punishable by prison sentences,” anang RSF.
Dagdag pa, “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.”
Habang ang freedom of the press ay ginagarantiyahan sa ilalim ng 1987 Constitution, ang batas ng Pilipinas, “does not protect journalistic freedom in practice.”
Tinukoy nito ang kaso ni Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa, at ang detention ng alternative journalists na sina Frenchie Mae Cumpio at Lady Ann Salem.
Kumpara sa administrasyong Duterte, sinabi ng RSF na si Marcos ay “more consensual, but the authorities still often resort to ‘red-tagging.'”
“At the regional level, many journalists are also the target of threats and lawsuits, while women journalists are subjected to specific gender-based threats, such as threats of rape, cyber-harassment, disclosure of personal details and so on,” pahayag ng RSF.
Sa pinakahuling datos ng Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) at National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), mayroong 135 insidente ng mga pag-atake at pagbabanta laban sa mga media worker mula nang manungkulan si Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. noong Hulyo 1, 2022 hanggang Abril 30 ngayong taon. RNT/JGC
