Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)

Filipino journalists and media groups have signed a statement highlighting the significance of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov; and how press freedom remains in a fragile state in the Philippines today.

A coalition of press freedom advocates condemns the Philippine Army’s Distributed Denial of Service cyberattacks on the websites of two alternative media organizations in the Philippines.

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.”

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.

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.

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’.