Article 19: Freedom of expression declines in Asia Pacific, worldwide
MANILA, Philippines — Freedom of expression has been declining across the world, according to the Global Expression Report 2023, where the Philippines is among countrues listed as having "restricted" expression.
The Philippines had a score of 41 — below neighbors Indonesia (53) and Malaysia (42) but higher than Singapore (29) and Thailand (18) — on the index compiled by rights group Article 19.
Globally, the Philippines is ranked 99th among 161 countries in the index, which looks at indicators like freedom of academic and cultural expression and government monitoring and censorship, and the safety of journalists and rights defenders.
According to Article 19 figures, there were 401 human rights defenders murdered across the world in 2022, with 48% of victims working to defend land, environmental and indigenous people's rights. There were 87 journalists murdered in 2022, while 64 were reported missing and 363 were in prison at the end of the year.
"Around the globe, 80% of us have less freedom of expression than we had a decade ago. That’s more than 6 billion people in more than 80 countries," Article 19 said, adding in a regional analysis that "4 million people in Asia and the Pacific are living with less freedom of expression" in the same time period.
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Declines across Asia Pacific
"More than half the countries in [the Asia and Pacific region] have seen a decline in score over the last decade (52%), ranging from declines of 54 points in Hong Kong (China) to 3 points in Australia. This large range shows us the unusually broad range of experiences in this region," the Article 19 report also reads.
Among the issues in the region that Article 19 has issued statements and reports on are the use by Myanmar's junta of the counterterrorism law against rights defenders and media workers and a draft cybersecurity law that will penalize the use of unauthorized virtual private networks (VPNs) that can be used to skirt restrictions on online access.
Article 19 has also monitored online censorship in Hong Kong and raids in Malaysia against the LGBTQ+ sector, including the confiscation of pieces from Swatch's Pride Collection.
"Freedom of expression is under threat and in decline. Ordinary people, as well as professional communicators and activists, face a plethora of threats — some new and some age-old — while simply trying to live our lives, have a say over how we are governed, and engage with the societies in which we live," it said.
READ: Transparency International: Governments in Asia Pacific restricting civic space
According to a Social Weather Stations survey released in May, around 47% or nearly half of Filipinos consider it dangerous to release content critical of the government.
Compared to the results of the same survey conducted in December 2021, the share of Filipinos who disagreed with the statement rose by four percentage points (22%), while the share of Filipinos who agreed is nearly the same.
Libel remains a crime in the Philippines and media companies ABS-CBN and Rappler were saddled with regulatory and legal challenges during the presidency of Reodrigo Duterte.
Activists, rights defenders, journalists and social media users are at risk of online harassment and of being labeled as terorrists, communist rebels and enemies of government.
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