ARCHIVES | State vs. the Press: Crimes and Impunity against the Philippine Media

Put a finger down if you have ever heard of the story of the white lady in the Balete Drive. Put a finger down if you have ever been haunted by ghostly legends in your sleep. Put a finger down if you ever felt scared of the “monsters” under your bed when you were a kid.

Seven fingers left? Frightening and spooky as they are, they can never top the reality that shook a lot of Filipinos almost 11 years ago.

On the morning of November 23, 2009, 58 people, including 32 journalists, were following a convoy of then-Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who was about to file his Certificate of Candidacy for the governorship of Maguindanao in Shariff Aguak. As they pass through the hills of Sitio Masalay, they encountered several armed men who will eventually ambush, kill, bury them on the site. Many years later, investigations revealed that the main perpetrators who ordered the killings were members of the Ampatuan clan, the family of former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who was also eyeing the governor position at the time.

Dubbed as the Maguindanao Massacre, the incident has been one of the deadliest attacks against the Press. However, efforts to silence the media are still evident many years later. 

Following Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s rise to power, along with the killings of many civilians under his “War on Drugs” dubbed as Oplan Tokhang, the president had also repeatedly threatened journalists and media institutions whose reports were not in favor of his administration.

In 2018, Rappler political reporter Pia Ranada was banned from entering and covering events inside the Malacanang complex. This was a day after the then-presidential aid Christopher “Bong” Go reprimanded Rappler and Philippine Daily Inquirer, another news outlet being targeted by the Duterte administration, for their reportage on his alleged involvement in "The Frigate Deal Scandal".

In response, Ranada stated that she “feel that press freedom, which is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, is being violated by the ban. Presidential prerogative has to stop when rights are already being stepped upon.”

Rappler is known for its critical reportage, particularly on the current administration. Consequently, many attacks were made against the media outlet. During the same year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Rappler’s operating license, citing the violation of nationality restrictions in mass media ownership laws as seen in the Philippine Depository Receipts (PDR) of Omidyar network.

In an interview with Vera Files, lawyer Romel Bagares explained that PDRs do not give its owner voting right in the day-to-day operation of a company.

“In other words, walang control, walang say ‘yong owners ng PDRs sa (PDR owners have no control in the) day-to-day operations. They don't have representation in the board, they don’t vote, they cannot decide on policy,” said Bagares.

Another attack could be seen in the case of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former writer-researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr., who was convicted with cyber libel charges filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng in June 2020 for an article that the news outlet released in May 2012, four months before the enactment of the non-retroactive Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. The verdict cited that the republication of the article in 2014 made it subjected to the law.

However, media law experts contested that correcting a typographical error cannot be considered as online republication, as it was also not specified in the law.

A month later, ABS-CBN — another news network known for its critical reportage on the government — was not granted permission to renew its franchise and was closed down. 11,000 employees had lost their jobs, while many remote areas in the country lost its primary source news. 

From the year 1986 - 2018, there were already 200 cases of killed journalists, and 17 of these cases were partly solved. Years passed but the lives of the media practitioners were still haunted by the unresolved injustices of the past, and are still being haunted by the threats of the present time.

As we commemorate the brave people in the media in today’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, let us not forget the souls of the murdered and the cries of the brave. Let us unite and defend press freedom.

This Feature article was written by Glaiza Chavez and Lovely Camille Arrocena on November 2, 2020, in commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, emphasizing the issues media and its people have been facing through the years.