EDITORIAL - Safe to speak, in all media

Among the first things that despots do is to prevent the free flow of information. But even in free societies, journalists are targeted for elimination by those who benefit from curtailing freedom of expression, including corrupt politicians, gambling barons, drug dealers and smugglers.

In the Philippines, people power drove out a dictator but not the many other individuals whose activities are threatened by a free press. World Press Freedom Day is marked today with the Philippines still ranked as the third worst country after Iraq and Somalia in the latest Impunity Index prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The New York-based CPJ counts 55 unsolved killings of journalists in the Philippines in the past decade. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Philippines has ranked third in the index since the CPJ started keeping count in 2008.

In the 2013 World Press Freedom Index drawn up by Reporters Without Borders, violence against journalists put the Philippines at 147th place out of 179 countries, just ahead of Russia, Singapore, Iraq and Burma, and behind Southeast Asian neighbors Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia.

On the 20th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has picked the theme, “Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom in All Media.” The choice reflects the growing concern over efforts to curtail freedom of expression online, and the impunity in targeting online journalists for harassment and violent attack. In 2011, the “freedom to connect” was highlighted in the World Press Freedom Day observance, in recognition of new media’s role as catalyst for change. This was evident in the role social media played in the Arab Spring.

The UNESCO counted 121 journalists killed worldwide in 2012, almost double the figures in 2011 and 2010. Assessing the situation in the Philippines, the CPJ noted that the impunity reflected “the general breakdown in the rule of law.” The United Nations has noted that the protection of journalists and press freedom must be accompanied by efforts to improve law enforcement and stamp out corruption. In this respect, much remains to be done to ensure press freedom in the Philippines.