Ched Rick Gatchalian

The Philippines dropped by one spot in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, ranking 134th out of 180 countries. File/Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Press freedom in PH improved but global state of journalists falls to 'difficult' for first time

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1746170656155PRESS FREEDOM.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Protesters calling for the protection of press freedom in the Philippines. File/Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News </div>MANILA — While economic difficulties and attacks against journalists remain worrisome, the Philippines jumped from 134th to 116th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index — its highest ranking in 21 years. The country received a global score of 49.57, slightly better than <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/3/philippines-drops-2-places-in-2024-press-freedom-index-1750">last year&#x27;s 43.36 </a>but still under a &quot;difficult situation&quot;, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its report released Friday, May 2.&quot;The country is still ranked as a country of &#x27;difficult situation&#x27; and the main reason for the improvement is due to improvement of the safety indicator. Actually, the Philippines is the deadliest country for journalists in Asia Pacific with almost 200 journalists killed in the last 40 years,&quot; said RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau advocacy officer Arthur Rochereau.&quot;But 2024 marked the first year since 1985 in which no journalist was killed in connection to their work... The fact that there is no murder of journalist and also the [Marcos Jr.] administration is less aggressive towards the media compared to Duterte administration,&quot; he added.He explained that while the situation in the Philippines got slightly better, Filipino journalists still face cases of legal harassment, physical attacks, economic challenges, and red-tagging.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/13/atom-araullo-wins-civil-lawsuit-vs-badoy-celiz-1921">Atom Araullo&#x27;s civil suit win vs Badoy, Celiz &#x27;opens option for victims of red-tagging&#x27;</a></div>RSF noted the same assessment on the last year&#x27;s report, saying “there seem to have been fewer and less violent attacks” against journalists under the Marcos Jr. regime yet the status quo remains &quot;worrisome&quot;.The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also said 2024 marked the first year in two decades that there is no member of media killed in the country in relation to their profession. However, the recent journalist killing in the Philippines was just early this week. On Tuesday, April 29, Aklan-based veteran journalist and former Kalibo town mayor Juan “Johnny” Dayang was shot three times by an unidentified gunman outside his home.He was declared dead on arrival. His cold-blooded death earned condemnation from advocacy groups and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).<div>PH STILL IN &#x27;DIFFICULT&#x27; SITUATION</div>The RSF World Press Freedom Index underscores the situation of press freedom in each country or territory yearly through indicators such as political, economic, legislative, and safety.While the Philippines&#x27; climbed 18 spots, the average score of all assessed countries fell below 55 points, or in a &quot;difficult&quot; situation.The country has also only increased by 6.2 points, indicating there is still much to be done to protect Filipino journalists.President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on 2023 <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/04/27/23/marcos-jr-vows-to-ensure-press-freedom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vowed to protect the rights of media practitioners</a>, saying the freedom of expression is ensured under his watch.In a report of Amnesty International released April 2025, it said<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/2/chr-launches-independent-probe-into-killing-of-journalist-johnny-dayang-1438"> &quot;state-sponsored online harassment&quot;</a> such as red-tagging or name-calling from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict have created a &quot;climate of fear&quot; for young journalists and advocates.RSF also recognized the same problem of red-tagging against journalists which had continued from the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, whom the media monitor said targeted journalists reporting on the drug war, to Marcos Jr.&quot;The policy of his successor, Bongbong Marcos, is more consensual, but the authorities still often resort to &#x27;red-tagging&#x27; – a practice inherited from the colonial era and Cold War in which journalists who do not toe the government line are branded as &#x27;subversive elements&#x27; or &#x27;reds,&quot; said RSF on its regional analysis on the Philippines.It said the labeling &quot;is tantamount to telling law enforcement that they are legitimate targets for arbitrary arrest or even summary execution.&quot;<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/26/marcos-jr-rejects-call-to-abolish-the-ntf-elcac-1747">Marcos Jr rejects call to abolish the NTF-ELCAC</a></div>Along with threats and red-tagging, &quot;defamation and cyber-defamation are still punishable by prison sentences,&quot; it added.In this year&#x27;s World Press Freedom Index, 20 of 32 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region had a decline on economic scores. These include India, Indonesia, and China which reentered &quot;the bottom trio of the index&quot; just ahead of North Korea.RSF also noted that repression already put press freedom in &quot;very serious&quot; situation in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Hongkong where &quot;everywhere in the region, media in exile are facing survival threats.&quot;<div>&#x27;WIDE CRACKS IN MEDIA&#x27;S ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY&#x27;</div>The global state of press freedom is now classified as a &quot;difficult&quot; situation —  a historic first in the record of the Index, as the economic indicator hit critical low with observed continuous decline.RSF said while physical and legal attacks continue to threaten journalists worldwide, &quot;economic pressure&quot; is also weakening press freedom. This manifests through problems in ownership concentration, pressure from advertisers and financial backers, and restriction on public aid.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2024/11/22/creacon-2024-tackles-how-tv-industry-thrives-amid-digital-age-1714">CreaCon 2024 tackles how TV industry thrives amid digital age</a></div>&quot;The data measured by the RSF Index’s economic indicator clearly indicates that today’s news media are caught between preserving their editorial independence and ensuring their economic survival,&quot; the report said.&quot;When journalists are impoverished, they no longer have the means to resist the enemies of the press — those who champion disinformation and propaganda. The media economy must urgently be restored to a state that is conducive to journalism and ensures the production of reliable information, which is inherently costly,&quot; RSF editorial director Anne Bocandé emphasized.As RSF stressed that &quot;wide cracks in the media’s economic sustainability are shaking the foundations of journalism&quot;, it also linked the crisis to the United States which it has called &quot;leader of the economic depression&quot;.It said the<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/24/most-usaid-workers-to-be-fired-or-placed-on-leave-1126"> freezing of funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) </a>which halted international aid pushed hundreds of media outlets &quot;into a critical state of economic instability&quot; and some in closure.&quot;Without economic stability, there is no free press. Without a free press, our right to reliable information is denied and our ability to make decisions freely is compromised,&quot; RSF added.

While economic difficulties and attacks against journalists remain worrisome, the Philippines jumped from 134th to 116th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index — its highest ranking in 21 years.

While economic difficulties and attacks against journalists remain worrisome, the Philippines jumped from 134th to 116th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index — its highest ranking in 21 years.

Press freedom in PH improves but global state of journalists falls to 'difficult' for first time

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Press freedom in PH improves but global state of journalists falls to 'difficult' for first time

Ched Rick Gatchalian,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 02, 2025 03:37 PM PHT

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