The Philippines maintained its unenviable position as seventh worst country where enemies of journalists get away with murder, a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ said the government will continue to investigate and prosecute cases involving work-related killings and harassment of Filipino journalists.
In another development, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) noted with concern the Global Impunity Index (GII) released by the CPJ, a US-based media advocacy group, where the country retained in 7th place ranking since 2020.
The CPJ said this is the Philippines’ 15th year in the index, where the country was lumped with Somalia, Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mexico, Myanmar, Brazil, Pakistan, and India.
According to CPJ’s 2022 Global Impunity Index, there were 14 unsolved killings of journalists in the last decade and retained its ranking for the second year in a row.
The CPJ noted that Percival Mabasa, also known as Percy Lapid, was a critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte and some policies of Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Following the slay of Renato Blanco who reported on local politics and corruption, Mabasa was the second journalist killed since Marcos took office in June 30.
“The election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brought hope of a shift away from outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign of intimidation and harassment of the press,” the CPJ said.
But it noted that the murders of Mabasa and Blanco “raised fears that the culture of violence and impunity will endure.”
The Duterte administration has denied hounding media and said it believed in free speech.
The Marcos government meanwhile said it was “strongly committed to the protection and safety of members of the media in the country.”
“Under my lead, we will support and protect the rights of the media as they efficiently perform their duty,” Marcos said following Mabasa’s murder last October 5.
“The vast majority of killers of journalists continue to get away with murder,” according to CPJ’s 2022 Global Impunity Index. In nearly 80 percent of the 263 cases of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work globally over the past decade, “the perpetrators have faced no punishment,” it said in its report published Tuesday.
Somalia remains at the top of the impunity index, the New York-based watchdog said, citing the country’s “history of conflict, political instability, and weak rule of law underscoring the entrenched nature of impunity and making it unlikely that authorities will ever devote resources to seeking justice for the journalists.”
The Philippines’ neighbor Myanmar also made its first appearance in the index at eighth place. This, as Myanmar’s military junta “jailed dozens of journalists and used sweeping anti-state and false news laws to suppress independent reporting.”
Three journalists were also killed in Myanmar recently, including Aye Kyaw and Soe Naing, who photographed protests against the regime and later were arrested and killed in custody.
DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV made the assurance following the release of the 2022 Global Impunity Index which showed that the Philippines is still on the seventh spot among the worst countries in the prosecution of killings of journalists.
“This Index will not stop the new administration from investigating and prosecuting work-related killing and harassment of journalists,” said Clavano, who also serves as DOJ spokesman.
According to him, the government “understands the importance of good journalism and we will take concrete steps in protecting those that simply want to keep the government and its officials in check.”
“It is a right we must respect and preserve,” he added.