The Philippine media community has hailed President Duterte’s signing into law a measure declaring August 30 as “National Press Freedom Day” in the country.
Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) Executive Director, Undersecretary Joel Egco, thanked the President for enacting the “much-awaited law.”
“All our hard work and efforts have paid off. As a veteran journalist myself, I have worked together with our media friends such as the Katipunan ng mga Alagad ni Marcelo H. Del Pilar (KAMPI) for the enactment of a law that will promote press freedom and at the same time highlight our identity as a nation of freedom-loving Filipinos that can be traced back even during colonial times,” Egco said in a statement.
“This is proof positive of President Duterte’s steadfast and unwavering commitment to protect press freedom in the Philippines, not through words but concrete action. August 30 is indeed a very special day in the Philippines as this is the birth date of one of our national heroes and considered the father of Philippine Journalism, Marcelo H. del Pilar, my personal hero, aka Plaridel,” Egco added.
“Our president is indeed a man of action. While other presidents in the past were satisfied with simply mouthing their commitment to freedom of the press, it is only President Duterte who has made significant progress towards this end with the signing of various measures to safeguard this sacred right, such as Administrative Order No. 1 in 2016 creating the PTFoMS under the Office of the President with a devoted mandate to protect media workers, the very first in the world; Executive Order No. 2 which operationalizes in the Executive Branch the people’s constitutional right to information by allowing full public disclosure and transparency in the public service; Republic Act No. 11458 which expanded the scope of the Philippine Shield law that now includes internet-based mass media; and of course, Republic Act 11699, declaring August 30 as the National Press Freedom Day,” Egco pointed out.