Campus press freedom violations (CPFVs) have long persisted in the country despite the legislation of Republic Act No. 7079, commonly known as the Campus Journalism Act (CJA) of 1991. With over 1000 CPFVs recorded since 2010, it is a concern for the media sector and the freedom of the Filipino press.
On Monday, February 24, a day before the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Uprising, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) convened a virtual press conference themed “Campus Press Power Towards People Power” along with various university publications to tackle the onslaught of CPFVs in the current political climate of the country.
Particularly, the following editors of certain publications were among the speakers who shared their first-hand experience on CPFVs, to wit:
Deni Molato, Today’s Carolinian
University of San Carlos (USC)
Fernan Enimedez, The SPARK
Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges (CSPC)
Thor Florentino, Tanglaw
Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Sta. Rosa
Patricia Lumenario, TomasinoWeb
University of Santo Tomas (UST)
“From July 2023 to June 2024, the CEGP has documented 206 campus press freedom violations CPFVs, adding to over 1000 cases since 2010. These are not isolated cases, but rather a systemic crackdown against the campus press and eventually, press freedom itself,” a unity statement by the Guild read, that garnered at least 50 signatories including the Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag (AKM) ng PUP, Baliktanaw, Iskolarium, PUP Campus Journalists, Tanglaw, The Catalyst, The Communicator, The Engineering Spectrum, The Forum, The Oikonomos Nexus, and The Searcher.
But beyond these numbers, what these publications have gone through are testaments that there is no freedom of the press, let alone the expression itself.
Evicting Today’s Carolinian (TC)
The official—now unrecognized by the university administration—campus publication of USC has been independently operating without any support from the admin since 2019.
According to Molato, due to their extensive coverage of the Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI) in their school, the admin has halted the collection of supposed publication fees intended for operations. This led them to shift and fully operate online.
January this year, TC got evicted from their office due to “limited spaces” which will now be used by the university alumni office.
“Dahil doon, ang pagkuha sa aming dalawang opisina ngayong Academic Year 2024-2025, ay hindi lamang isa sa maraming campus press freedom violations (CPFV) na magpapahirap sa operasyon ng TC, ito rin ay isa sa kanilang mga tangka upang tanggalin ang mga democratic spaces [ng lahat] ng estudyante,” Molato stated.
She also highlighted that this is not just a fight for TC’s offices because they remain the only voice left of the Carolinian community whom the admin has not silenced.
On January 20, TC launched #MakeTCUnkillable, a petition led by its editorial board, to amplify and campaign the recognition of TC, reinstate funding and offices, support freedom of coverage, and waive the traditional and bureaucratic application processes imposed by the Office of Student Formation and Activities (OSFA).
The petition has garnered over 400 signatories, with more than half coming from the studentry.
TheSPARK sparking the ire of Villafuerte
CSPC’s official student-led and community publication, TheSPARK, faced an act of repression by the Camarines Sur 2nd District Representative and governor-hopeful Lray Villafuerte, hailing from a 30-year political clan in the province, when the publication released its mock elections results via Facebook of the gubernatorial race in February of this year.
In the survey, results showed that 43%, or equivalent to 214 votes preferred Bong Rodriguez, former campaign manager of Atty. Leni Robredo, over the political scion Villafuerte who only got 30% or equivalent to 150 votes.
This made Villafuerte lash out on social media by dismissing the results as “fake news” and accusing Enimedez, the incumbent Associate Editor of TheSPARK, of bias based upon the editor’s framed profile picture related to the Leni-Kiko campaign in 2022. He questioned the publication’s journalistic integrity and reportage.
The publication later asserted the legitimacy of the survey through a note that the elections were not “fake,” including a breakdown of the survey, which has garnered 498 respondents out of the 549 sample size in the 13,996 CSPC population.
However, Villafuerte did not bother to acknowledge it, instead posted on his Facebook account stating that the province “loves” their family.
“Pag sinasagot ko ! Tantrum daw !😂✌️#chillax lang ! Your bashing will not silence me from exposing the truth !” Villafuerte wrote, in response to him lashing out.
Reclaiming Tanglaw
Tanglaw, the official student publication of PUP Sta. Rosa ceased its operation in October 2024 mainly due to the intervention of the campus administration due to “copyright issues” in the publication’s name.
“Tanglaw has experienced administrative intervention in some of its operations. So, ‘yong ilan pong mga articles, mga posts, have been deleted by the publication adviser without consulting the editorial board on reasons that the campus director did not like its content,” Florentino, the incumbent News Editor of Tanglaw, said in the press conference.
Florentino added that the publication has experienced administrative pressure to delete several contents on their Facebook page for which they obliged later on.
With this, Florentino bares that the publication is not on good terms with the current administration, making it harder for them to revalidate as a campus publication.
In a consultation on February 22, the PUP Office of the Student Regent (OSR), along with the Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag (AKM) ng PUP, and the College of Communication (COC) Student Council, convened with the campus’ student leaders to discuss the general studentry welfare and Tanglaw’s current status.
The organizations are set to return to Sta. Rosa campus for a dialogue with the campus administration as the publication calls for its reinstatement as the official campus publication without changing its name.
TomasinoWeb webbed in censorship
TomasinoWeb—unlike the mentioned publications—-is a premier digital media organization of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) which is also not spared from CPFVs due to admin intervention with its press duties.
In 2024, the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) instructed the publication to take down a photograph allegedly causing “public ridicule” to the university. The photo in question shows several Thomasians in their Type B uniforms entering a convenience store on the campus grounds which has caused public discussions on the media censorship of UST OSA.
Over a year later, TomasinoWeb is still highly under surveillance by the admin through its two publication advisers authorizing what contents they are allowed to post—a practice the publication did not do before the incident.
“Kamakailan lamang ay ni-rerequire na ng OSA ang paghingi ng permiso para sa off-campus coverages. Isang bagay [rin] na hindi karaniwang i-rerequire sa aming organisasyon.” Lumenario, the incumbent Managing Editor of TomasinoWeb, said in the press conference.
Lumenario highlights the importance of an in-depth analysis of the Campus Journalism Act (CJA) of 1991 to protect campus journalists with their democratic rights.
“Ang campus press ay dapat manatiling espasyo ng katotohanan, hindi isang larangan ng takot,” Lumenario added.
On the urgent passage of the Campus Press Freedom Bill
Atty. Renee Co, Kabataan Partylist (KPL) first nominee for the 2025 Midterm Elections, highlighted the repealing of the CJA and instead, the legislation of the Campus Press Freedom Bill (CPFB).
“Hindi sufficient ang existing law (CJA) para protektahan ang karapatan at kailangan na mas malawak at mas komprehensibong solusyon sa iba’t ibang challenges na kinakaharap ng mga publikasyon,” Co emphasized.
Co added in her statement that KPL challenges electoral candidates to continuously meet the demands and needs of every campus publication, legislate the CPFB, and advocate for a free press without any CPFVs.
The Persevering Role of Student Publications
Student publications—known before as part of the mosquito presses—played a pivotal role in ousting the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during the EDSA People Power Uprising on February 25, 1986.
The mosquito press was declared illegal during the height of Martial Law, pushing these publications to operate underground to serve their respective audiences as a means to fight back against the repression of the Marcos Sr. administration.
Today, as the nation commemorates its 39th anniversary, these repressive actions faced by student publications mirror the extremities of the past as the media sector continuously asserts for a free Filipino press.
Article: Elijah Pineda
Graphics: Lourence Angelo Marcellana
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