The Philippines appeared again this year on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index, the 17th year that the country has been among the countries where the murders of journalists are likely to remain unsolved and unpunished.

According to the CPJ, impunity happens “when individuals or nations are not held responsible in these murders” and notes that the Philippines “has logged an unsolved murder of a journalist almost every year since 1992.”

While the Philippines can be said to have ranked better at 9th place against 8th in the 2023 index, this is also because of the inclusion of Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory, where 126 journalists have been killed and where CPJ said at least five journalists have been targeted for their work.

It is easy to say and possibly take comfort that the situation in the Philippines being arguably better than in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Haiti — at the top of the index this year — but the Philippines is supposed to be a working democracy where rights, including the freedom of the press and the safety that that freedom requires, are guaranteed by the Constitution.

But that is not something that we should be willing to offer to the family of Percy Lapid, or to the family of Doc Gerry Ortega or the families of the 32 media workers killed in the Ampatuan Massacre — which marks its 15th anniversary this year — while justice for those killings remains elusive.

Former Corrections chief Gerald Bantag, the alleged mastermind in the Percy Lapid killing, remains at large, while former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes only recently returned to government custody — arranging his surrender for an arrest warrant issued in 2023 for the revived trial of the Ortega murder in 2011.

Convictions in the Ampatuan Massacre case also remain partial justice for the families of victims of the worst case of election-related violence in Philippine history while these remain under appeal.

Each year that passes risks relegating these murders further into the past and sends the message that attacks against journalists are to be expected and can be expected to be done with impunity. Already, many of our colleagues see these attacks as just part of the territory. While there is inherent risk in journalism and media work, attacks against journalists cannot be normalized.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines marks November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, by remembering colleagues who have been killed and continuing to call for justice.
Keeping their stories alive, reporting on the progress — or lack of it — in their cases, and seeking accountability for these crimes are some of the ways we can make sure they are not forgotten.

We note as well how economic factors have forced many of our colleagues to depend on each other for fundraising for medical and household needs, pointing at the often dire financial situations that media workers find themselves in because of continuing issues with pay and benefits.

That journalists continue to operate in unsafe environments for pay that is often not enough for their daily needs is itself a threat that affects journalist safety, press freedom, and democracy.

Reference:
National Directorate | +639602784263