To mark World Press Freedom Day, Duterte says gov't is committed to upholding press freedom
To mark World Press Freedom Day today, President Rodrigo Duterte said his administration -- which has been saddled by issues of media killings and persecution of critics -- is committed to protecting the press.
Duterte affirmed the country’s commitment to protect press freedom “as a public good and as an indispensable requirement to a vibrant democracy.”
“Let me assure everyone that this administration will remain committed in promoting press freedom as a vital component and indicator of progress anywhere in the world,” said Duterte.
Duterte also said that the press should uphold “fairness and transparency” while "making a positive impact on the people’s lives.”
Last month, the Reporters Without Borders released the 2021 edition of its World Press Freedom Index, where the Philippines ranked 138th out of 180 countries. It slipped two notches from its ranking last year.
The index cites the denial to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise as the “grotesque judicial harassment campaign against the news website Rappler and its editor, Maria Ressa” for the ranking.
A press freedom rally in 2018 (AFP)
Meanwhile, in a statement posted on their Facebook page, the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines said that it marks World Press Freedom Day “with recent reminders of the risks that journalists in the Philippines, especially those among the alternative and regional media face,” citing attacks and red-tagging of members of the press.
“But even if we mark World Press Freedom Day with many reasons to be fearful, we mark it also with hope, knowing that there are many of us still working each day to gather facts and shine a little light on what is happening in the country and on what isn’t,” the statement added.“We mark World Press Freedom Day with the hope that that the struggles and hardships we faced in the past year have made our resolve stronger and have made us more willing to support — and, when warranted, correct — each other.”
In a video message for World Press Freedom Day, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the “global challenges we have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic underline the critical role of reliable, verified, and universally accessible information in saving lives and building strong, resilient societies.”
Guterres urged world governments to support a “free, independent, and diverse media” amid the challenges being faced by the press and media organizations as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.