Press freedom is guaranteed under the watch of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles issued the statement in celebration of National Press Freedom Day.
“The administration, under the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., recognizes and respects press freedom in the country, as guaranteed by the Constitution,” she said in Filipino in a Facebook post.
Cruz-Angeles said the Office of the Press Secretary is joining the entire country in marking National Press Freedom Day, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Marcelo H. del Pilar.
Cruz-Angeles said the Palace would work closely with media organizations to protect and uphold the rights of journalists.
Republic Act (RA) 11699 signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte declared Aug. 30 of every year as National Press Freedom Day in honor of Del Pilar, the father of Philippine Journalism.
Del Pilar, who wrote under the pen name “Plaridel,” was born on Aug. 30, 1890.
Under RA 11699, Aug. 30 of every year is declared a working holiday.
RA mandates all government agencies and instrumentalities, as well as the private sector, to engage and participate in the meaningful observance and celebration of National Press Freedom Day.
The directive covers the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and the local government units.
The law also orders the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to lead public and private schools at all levels in organizing activities on the importance of the press and their rights and social responsibilities.
The Philippines’ ranking in the World Press Freedom Index further dropped this year, nine places to end 147th among 180 countries.
This is the fifth time that the country dropped in ranking in the list by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In 2021, the country ranked 138th, then 136th in 2020, 134th in 2019, and 133rd in 2018.
RSF described the Philippine media as “extremely vibrant despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment, since 2016, of journalists and media outlets that are too critical.”
RSF said radio and TV are the most popular media in the country, with networks continuing to grow their presence online. Meanwhile, print media are losing momentum, with some regional newspapers struggling to survive as they lack online presence.
“The Philippines is due to emerge from Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year presidency in 2022, six years marked by countless verbal attacks coupled with judicial harassment targeting any media deemed overly critical of the government,” they said.
In terms of legal framework, Philippine laws do not protect the ability of journalists to work freely despite the press freedom guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution, the group said.
“Defamation is still criminalized and journalist Maria Ressa faces the possibility of several decades in prison as a result of legal actions brought by several government agencies. The government uses laws relating to media ownership and taxation to harass critical media such as the Rappler website,” RSF said.
It also condemned the red-tagging of journalists.
“The Philippines is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists—as seen most shockingly when 32 reporters were massacred in the southern province of Maguindanao in 2009—and impunity for these crimes is almost total,” the RSF said.
The index annually ranks the press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories. Countries are ranked using categories good, fairly good, problematic, bad, and very bad.