edited by Alastair Carthew and Simon Winkelmann
Freedom of information measures were excluded from the Philippine’s long awaited Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); criticism of paramilitary groups and privately owned militias in attacks on the media and a former governor asked the Court of Appeals to stop a reinvestigation into his alleged involvement in a murder. In addition, a number of journalists were shot at, wounded and killed; arson attacks mounted and defamation charges brought against them.President Benigno S. Aquino III endorsed 13 measures he wanted the legislature to prioritize during its regular session, but the FOI, pending in Congress for 14 years, was not amongst them. The President defended the non-inclusion by saying there were still details to be ironed out. When running for president, Mr Aquino said he was solidly behind the FOI. Supporters of the FOI were disappointed.
By way of background, Journalists in 2009 denounced the Right of Reply Bill (RORB) as “an act of terrorism against the media.” The RORB passed in 2008 requires media to air the replies of subjects of news articles of broadcasts. It imposes hefty fines, imprisonment and closure of media outfits for those who fail to comply.
Reporters Without Borders said in an October release that Philippines’ paramilitary groups and privately owned militias, included in the 2011 list of Predators of Press Freedom, were implicated in attacks on journalists since democracy was restored in 1986. The report went on to say of the Philippines media: “difficulty accessing information, self-censorship and journalists’ low pay also pose serious problems for the independence of newspapers, which are often influenced or controlled by powerful businesses and political interests.”
There was also some criticism by organisations such as The Diplomat, a prestigious current affairs magazine covering Asia, which said media coverage of the devastating Mindanao floods was “comparatively subdued.” It compared when Luzon, Philippines’ largest province was hit from typhoons, the media coverage was vastly different from that of Mindanao, a poorer southern province. The Diplomat said this reinforced the idea of “imperial Manila,” where Luzon is “lavished with extra attention.”
In November, former governor of Palwan Joel Reyes filed a petition asking the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the reinvestigation into his alleged involvement in the planning of the murder of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega. Mr Ortega was the second journalist killed in the line of duty under the Benigno Aquino III administration. He was shot dead in January.
The attacks on journalists continued in 2011. In November, a radio journalist who reported critically on local corruption and drug trafficking was shot and seriously wounded by two gunmen on motorcycles. Michael James Licuanan was a reporter for Bombo Radyo Cagayan de Oro City. Also in November Alfredo Velarde Jr., the circulation manager of Brigada News, a newpaper in South Cotabato, a province south of Manila, was shot dead by a motorcycle-riding gunman. The cause was reportedly rivalry within the company. In October, an arson attack on the Catholic Church owned radio station dzVT in San Jose, in the Oriental Mindoro province of Luzon, destroyed transmission equipment. The station had been targeted for retaliation for commentaries it broadcasted that were critical of a local politician.
The Philippines was 156th on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index 2010. It had 29 million Internet users at March, 2011 and 25 million Facebook subscribers.