Articles by Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
Election commission’s ban on media-initiated tally labeled an infringement on press freedom and the public’s right to information
(CMFR/IFEX) – The Commission on Elections (Comelec), the government body responsible for running elections in the Philippines, ordered a stop on 16 May 2007 to the “media counts” being conducted by the TV networks GMA-7 and ABS-CBN on the grounds that they were “unauthorized” and “confuse our people.” “The stations should not do it because […]
Court bars public affairs programme from airing story
(CMFR/IFEX) – A local public affairs program was barred from airing a story on 12 May 2007 by a temporary restraining order (TRO). A representative from Lanao del Norte’s second district secured the TRO, preventing GMA Network Inc.’s Imbestigador (Investigator) program from airing a segment that reported on the almost six-decade reign of the congressman’s […]
Foreign journalists barred from entering military camp to conduct interview
(CMFR/IFEX) – Two journalists from the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) were banned from entering the Philippine Marines headquarters in Taguig City on 9 May 2007 for an arranged interview with jailed opposition senatorial candidate and former Navy officer Antonio Trillanes IV. Focap is the organization of foreign correspondents based in the Philippines. […]
Presidential spouse’s withdrawal of libel suits against 46 journalists a triumph for press freedom, proves resistance best defence, says CMFR
(CMFR/IFEX) – The following is a CMFR press release: CMFR statement on Mike Arroyo’s withdrawal of his libel suits against 46 journalists The decision of presidential spouse Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo to withdraw the 11 libel suits he had filed against 46 journalists is a triumph for press freedom. But it also proves that resistance […]
Presidential spouse “Mike” Arroyo drops all libel suits against journalists
(CMFR/IFEX) – Presidential spouse Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo ordered his lawyers to withdraw all the libel suits he had filed against Filipino journalists as a “gesture of peace” on 3 May 2007. Read by press secretary Ignacio Bunye in a media briefing in Malacañang, Arroyo’s announcement coincided with the celebration of World Press Freedom Day. […]
President Arroyo issues order further restricting access to information, sets up “National Security Clearance System”
(CMFR/IFEX) – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has issued an Executive Order (EO) that will restrict public and media access to official information. EO 608, issued on 20 April 2007, will create a National Security Clearance System that will “protect and ensure the integrity and sanctity” of classified information against “enemies of the state.” “It is […]
Newspaper journalist shot and wounded following threats; two libel cases involving radio journalists lead to lawsuit and arrest
(CMFR/IFEX) – Delfin Mallari Jr., a Southern Luzon correspondent for the Manila-based broadsheet “Philippine Daily Inquirer” (PDI), was shot and wounded at around 7:40 a.m. (local time) on 19 April 2007 by two unidentified gunmen in Lucena City, Quezon, a province east of Manila. PDI is one of the leading daily newspapers in the Philippines. […]
Radio journalist killed following reports on crimes of police and politicians
(CMFR/IFEX) – On 18 April 2007 at about 6:00 a.m. (local time), a police reporter for the government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan was found dead in Mapalad Village, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija (about 200 km north of Manila). Carmelo “Mark” Palacios, 41, bore bruises and gunshot wounds on the chin and back. His […]