Philippines

Despite the dropping of the second criminal cyberlibel case against “Rappler”‘s Maria Ressa, the Filipino-American journalist still faces eight other charges.

Dozens of media groups and journalists in the Philippines have signed a statement rejecting the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 for containing provisions that “trample upon fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of the press.”

This was the second time in recent months that a cyber libel charge was filed against Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa, the founder of news portal ‘Rappler’.

Freelance journalist Ronnie Villamor, who was covering a land dispute in Masbate Province, was shot dead by soldiers in an ‘encounter’. Four journalists have been killed this year in the Philippines.

A broad group of organizations and individuals have sent a letter to UNESCO regarding the latter’s classification of the Ampatuan Massacre as ‘resolved’. Fifty-eight persons were killed, including 32 journalists, when armed goons attacked an electoral convoy in a southern province in the Philippines in 2009.

Altermidya and its members Bulatlat, Kodao, and Pinoy Weekly filed complaints against state agents before the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights for continuous threats, intimidation, and attacks on press freedom.

The prosecution represents an attempt to use tax law and foreign ownership regulations as another weapon to criminalise journalism and silence Ressa and “Rappler” as threats to press freedom and democracy escalate in the Philippines.

A congressional committee has voted to reject the franchise application of ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ largest TV and radio network. Since 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte has castigated the network for its critical reporting and has threatened the non-renewal of its license.

IFEX members have issued statements condemning the cyber libel guilty verdict handed out by a Philippine court against award-winning journalist Maria Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr.

Advocates of free press and expression call on the Philippines government to respect the public’s right to know and denounce the stifling of ABS-CBN, one of the largest media groups in the country.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said the forced closure of a major broadcasting network limits the possibilities of civic engagement and political participation.

Several groups and journalists in the Philippines have signed a statement describing the government’s new media accreditation process as ‘unnecessary, unreasonable and unconstitutional’.

CMFR sees the suit against ABS-CBN as a dangerous attempt to control and silence the free press.

Members of the Ampatuan family and accomplices were sentenced up to 40 years in prison for the killing of 58 individuals, 32 of whom were journalists, in 2009.

The 10th anniversary of the single most deadly assault on journalists ever takes place on 23 November. IFEX’s Asia & Pacific Regional Editor Mong Palatino writes about a decade of activism on behalf of the 58 Ampatuan Massacre victims, among them 32 journalists, in this Spark multimedia feature article.

The judge ruled that the “undue haste in the transmittal of records” by the prosecutor violated the “Rappler” executives’ right to due process.