Culture of impunity vs journalists has ended – Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte’s media security task force yesterday claimed that the “culture of impunity” has ended because of the government’s commitment to bring those behind the threats and violence against journalists to justice.

In a statement on the release of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report on journalists’ safety, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said the administration has accomplished much in protecting the freedoms of expression, opinion and of the press.

“With the unwavering commitment of this government in bringing to justice perpetrators of threats and violence against media workers through a dedicated agency such as the PTFoMS, we can now proudly proclaim to the world that the so-called culture of impunity has finally ended,” PTFoMS executive director Joel Egco said in a statement.

Egco said the Philippines was removed as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists by the Reporters Without Borders in 2018 and was declared as the “biggest mover” by the Committee to Protect Journalists in its annual Global Impunity Index.

However, a recent report by the Reporters Without Borders showed that the Philippines fell two notches in the World Press Freedom Index in 2020, dropping to 136th out of 180 countries from 134th in 2019. The group cited the alleged “judicial harassment campaign” against news website Rappler, the “threats and intimidation” against television network ABS-CBN and the online harassment by troll armies and cyber attacks against alternative news websites.

Earlier this month, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines claimed that the Duterte administration and its supporters would “not hesitate to break laws to stifle dissent and suppress freedom of the press and of expression.” The group cited the arrest of Manila Today editor Lady Ann Salem, one of the seven persons arrested during the commemoration of International Human Rights Day last December on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. A local court ordered Salem’s release earlier this month.

The UNESCO report said “significant progress” was made in the Maguindanao massacre case, which left 57 civilians, including 32 journalists, dead in 2009.

Forty-three individuals were convicted, including the mastermind behind the attack in December 2019, the report noted.

According to the report, the Philippines was one of the territories that informed UNESCO about its efforts to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to track attacks against journalists and to prevent crimes against media workers. UNESCO also mentioned the Philippines’ launching of a handbook on media practitioners’ safety in 2018. The handbook “provides good practices for journalists on how to protect themselves and their family against violence, threats and intimidation,” the report said.

“While there is more work that needs to be done, rest assured that the Duterte administration will always uphold press freedom,” Presidential Communications Secretary and PTFoMS co-chair Martin Andanar said in a statement.