MANILA — The Philippines climbed 15 spots in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, which described the Filipino media as "extremely vibrant despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment" since 2016.

The country ranked 132 out of 180 countries, and had a global score of 46.21, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its report released Wednesday, World Press Freedom Day.

The media watchdog noted that the election of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as president in June 2022 was "unsettling" for most Filipino journalists because of his father and namesake's dictatorial regime.

While there have been fewer verbal and violent attacks against journalists since Marcos Jr became president, they are still worrisome, the RSF said.

It noted that during former President Rodrigo Duterte's term, journalists were harassed more, especially those critical of his administration then.

"During Duterte’s term, Congress refused to renew the ABS-CBN network’s franchise in 2020, leading to the closure of dozens of radio stations and TV channels. Several news websites, such as the Altermidya network sites, were also the targets of cyberattacks by pro-Duterte trolls, which could lead to their suspension," the RSF said.

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The Philippines is still one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, it emphasized, despite a presidential task force on media security which "has proved unable to stem the vicious cycle of violence against journalists."

"At the regional level, many journalists are the targets of threats and lawsuits, while women journalists are subjected to specific gender-based threats – threats of rape, cyber-harassment, disclosure of personal details and so on," the RSF said.

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