Yet again, groups outside this country are acting as if they know better what the country’s situation is.
The latest of this irritating intrusion is the pronouncement of groups of foreign journalists who think they know better about press freedom in the Philippines.
The report by representatives of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) from the US and Alliance for Journalists Freedom (AJF) from Australia is saying that there is “increasing levels of intimidation” against Filipino journalists and “shrinking space for the free press in the country.” Obviously, this report is based predominantly on the case of a particular entity whose nature of existence or business is conflicting. According to the group, the cases against online news site Rappler and its chief editor, Maria Ressa, were a form of “formal and informal pressure on journalists… that appear to be politically motivated” and which “created a sense of fear throughout the media industry, leading to self-censorship.”
Ressa’s case is one involving a violation of our Securities Code and such other cases such as tax evasion and anti-dummy charges while her cyber libel case was initiated by a private individual, not by the government.
Branding the country’s media situation as being harassed either formally or informally cannot and should not be solely based on a particular personality and entity. Ressa’s case should not be singled out. It cannot be overemphasized here that cases against journalists are part of the risks of the trade.
As in any profession, there are limits to one’s practice particulary existing laws on libel aside from the enshrined ethics that come with media practice.
