Learning Task No.

2 - Desk Research

Biason, Trizha Alieya R.

Capapas, Gem Tristan Peter G.

Tour, Far Eastern University – Manila

GED0113 – Filipino in the Contemporary World

Ms. Michaela Mojica

December 03, 2022

 All democratic societies are built on media freedom, crucial to protecting fundamental
liberties and human rights. For elected officials to be held accountable, free media is real. In the
Philippines, the Constitution protects journalistic freedom. Nevertheless, the island country has
developed into one of the most dangerous locations in the world to exercise that freedom. There
shouldn't be any restrictions on the press because press freedom is fundamental for the
advancement of the economy, preservation of democracy, and power to fight corruption.

In the Philippines, press freedom has become vulnerable to threats such as being
suppressed to disseminate information of truth and transparency, which is alarming for our
democratic state and its citizens with the new form of repression by the government due to
widespread disinformation and fake news in social media (FEU Academics, 2020). For instance,
today’s administration made the press more vulnerable to political intimidation, regulatory
harassment, and internet threats. Accusations that the previous president had hidden millions of
dollars in secret bank accounts prompted former president Duterte to unleash scathing attacks
against two news organizations. The proprietors of the second-largest newspaper in the nation,
the Philippine Daily Inquirer, declared they would sell the daily to a businessman friendly with
the president as he ramped up the fire. By threatening to obstruct the network's franchise renewal
and to sue its owners for failing to run campaign advertisements that he claimed to have already
paid for, Duterte also put further pressure on ABS-CBN, the leading television network
(Coronel, 2018). In the statement of Maritess Vitug for FEU Public Intellectual Series,
authoritarianism led to the censorship of media. Even now, many nations worldwide see how the
government suppresses journalistic freedom. 

In comparison, Canada suggested that the Philippine government "take appropriate steps
to amend the Revised Penal Code and the Cybercrime Prevention Act to decriminalize libel and
cyber libel, in favour of civil proceedings." In contrast, the United States suggested that the
Philippine government "review and revise laws and regulations that unduly restrict or inhibit
freedom of expression and independent media," also citing the Revised Penal Code, the
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 20212, and other relevant laws (Gavilan, 2022). We realize that if
even one of these liberties is taken away from the press, the voiceless will no longer have a
voice. Even worse, if the media is unable to do its job, those in positions of authority will be able
to run the nation in whatever they choose without being watched over and critiqued by the
media, which will inform the public about how the government is operating and encourage
cooperation to stop this. This will leave the public in the dark and render them helpless. In light
of these facts, it is clear that society as a whole does not value journalistic freedom. For a
democracy to function effectively, press freedom is fundamental. People should be aware of the
social issues occurring in their country. It is essential to have the ability to criticize the
government since doing so will empower the leadership to develop the country.

In a democracy, the legislature, executive, judiciary, and press are the four pillars that are
considered accountable and must function in order to lead in a progressive state that has freedom
of the media and makes the government accountable with their supervision. The past
administrations have seen an indirect control of the media, and we should let history repeat itself
with this new administration, which is the son of the dictatorship of more than a decade.
References:

Coronel, S. (2018, January 17). A “Fraught Time” For Press Freedom In The Philippines.
NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/01/17/578610243/a-fraught-time-
for-press-freedom-in-the-philippines
FEU Academics. (2020, September 22). FEU Public Intellectual Lecture Series | Melinda De
Jesus and Maritess Vitug [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0TNWM0TXLEY
Gavilan, J. (2022, November 22). Canada, others urge Marcos gov’t to decriminalize libel,
ensure press freedom in PH. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/canada-other-
countries-urge-philippines-decriminalize-libel-ensure-press-freedom/