Local

Different descriptions of democracy in the Philippines have included "factionalism," "clientelism,"

"caciquism," and "bossism," but the general trend has been evident, according to Landé (1964).

The landowning, business, and industrial elite of the archipelago has produced elected officials

who promote its interests both directly and indirectly. Competition for the fruits of state power

between opposing families and factions within this ruling class has centered around contests for

political office. Because of their poverty and economic instability, the majority of Filipinos are

vulnerable to clientelist, coercive, and financial inducements and pressures during elections due

to a highly decentralized political system.

Given the significance that journalists play in reporting on and legitimizing the issues that

society faces, it is crucial to study the challenges that journalists encounter. This study

investigates the top issue facing journalists in the Philippines, a developing democracy with a

distinctive media landscape. Tandoc Jr., E. C., based their analysis on a survey of 349 Filipino

journalists. According to a 2017 study, the issues that Filipino journalists are most worried about

are poor pay, media violence, information availability, and professionalism.

The Philippines holds the distinction of having reported the most journalist murders in Southeast

Asia between 1992 and 2012. With this track record, the Philippines is positioned closer to

nations that are "transitioning" democracies in other areas of the world. Although there is almost

complete press freedom in these nations, the institutional framework makes it possible for

criminals to avoid punishment. The writers of this page contend that attributing these homicides

to the Philippines' government's suppression of progressive journalists ignores the complexity of

these slayings. Mendoza, M. P., A. L. K. Candelaria, and F. V. Aguilar Jr. A (2014) study

demonstrates that the interests of local power brokers, rather than the interests of the state as a

whole, were threatened when journalists were killed for their profession (designated as "motive
confirmed"). The murders of media professionals must therefore be interpreted in light of local

conflicts over governmentalally sanctioned positions and resources, particularly in light of the

decentralization that has occurred since 1991. Based on preliminary data analysis of journalist

deaths from 1998 to 2012 and a few case studies, it appears that most of these murders are

local affairs, occurring predominantly in provincial towns and cities.

Despite not being at war, the Philippines is one of the most hazardous countries in which to

work as a journalist. Radio broadcasters based outside of Manila in particular are at risk. In the

Philippines, 79 journalist murders have been reported since CPJ started tracking press attacks

in 1992. Comparing this to the 1312 journalists who were slain globally during the same time

period, the Philippines is responsible for 6.02 percent of all journalist fatalities for which motives

have been established. More than half of these journalists were employed by radio. One may

speculate that the phenomena would make sense if the majority of these radio broadcasters

had died earlier, around 1992, given the state of media technologies at the time. However, more

than half of these murders (22) happened after 2006, which is much after the widespread use of

modern media technology.

Results discussed in Mitra, S., Hiby, & Garrido. (2021) are based on information acquired from

five journalists and four expert sources during semi-structured interviews conducted in May

2017. In a conversation about the variations in risks faced by local and non-local journalists in

Mindanao, four of the journalists—two from Mindanao and two from Manila—were consulted.

Through one-on-one interviews, the other journalist and specialist sources were consulted.

Expert sources, in this case, were individuals regarded as particularly knowledgeable about

anti-press violence in the nation; in this case, they included editors-in-chief of the news outlet

Rappler, Maria Ressa, and representatives of the Philippine Union of Journalists (NUJP) and

the Philippine Centre of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). When discussing about journalists who

faced substantially greater dangers, the interviewees expressed particular concern about the
threats encountered by radio broadcasters in several of the interviews. When asked which kind

of reporters are more susceptible to threats, interviewees indicated "radio," adding that "that's

based on the lists of homicides; the majority of people who are slain were actually from radio."

The Maguindanao massacre, which involved the torture and murder of journalists and

defenseless women, might be regarded as one of the worst instances of human rights abuse in

the nation in terms of political security. The 57 victims perished while exercising their

constitutional rights—namely, the freedom of speech and expression, the right to run for public

office and support the candidate of one's choice, and the right to freedom of assembly and

association—at the hands of individuals who, by virtue of their office, had been entrusted with

serving the public. The adage "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" and Nobel

Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's interpretation of it, "it is not power that corrupts, but fear - fear

of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who

are subject to it," were used by Ernesto Ordoez to analyze the Maguindanao Massacre (2009:

B6)

Foreign

Elections are frequently combined with shoddy judicial systems in electoral democracies. In

many nations, it is frequently difficult to determine whether the muting of critical voices is the

product of targeted violence—possibly even political violence—or merely an accident. In a

nation that experiences both attacks on its press and widespread criminal violence, Bartman

(2018) has tackled this issue. Although the official story in Mexico is that journalists are the

victims of random acts of violence, journalists and NGOs claim that they are frequently the

targets of political violence. Judging between these two conflicting stories is challenging

because criminal investigations into journalist murders frequently end in a failure to find the

killers. The analysis in this article shows, however, that journalists are at a much higher risk of
being killed than members of the general population. It also found that violence against

journalists varies widely across Mexico’s states, suggesting a subnational element to the

targeting of critical voices.

Dangers to media freedom and journalists' safety can take many different forms around the

world, according to Ibrahim and Usman (2020), and these threats truly reflect the sociopolitical

and economic context of each nation. Understanding national-level issues and concentrating on

a multi-stakeholder strategy to address online and offline threats to journalists and restrictions

on media freedom are urgently needed. To advance safe and free journalism entails developing

national policies, making wise decisions, and having discussions that are focused on finding

solutions. Additionally, the substance of the "UN 2030 Agenda with its 17 objectives and 169

targets" must be reflected in these activities. Specifically promoting the safety of journalists and

addressing the issue of impunity is Goal 16, which is to "promote peaceful and inclusive

societies for sustainable development, ensure access to justice for all, and establish effective,

responsible, and inclusive institutions at all levels."

The media's crucial role in setting the agenda, educating society, and influencing public opinion

makes it a risky job. For instance, in Nepal's unstable political climate, journalists were

threatened or occasionally killed for refusing to write on a subject, and these plots occasionally

extended to their relatives who were potential targets for attacks, according to Neupane & Zeng

(2014). According to their conclusions, the implementation of guaranteed rights is still far from

being completed, even though media freedom is expressly safeguarded in the Interim

Constitution. The capital city's situation is a little bit better than it is elsewhere in the nation. In

spite of this, threats and violence against journalists continue to occur countrywide as a result of

their reporting. Pressure comes from a variety of sources, including minority groups, the armed

forces, and even media executives. When it comes to providing journalists with security, the

government does a poor job.

support the interests of society is important to the media profession and that the media should

not be mistaken for a crucial component of security services. Taback and Coupland (2006)

looked at the safety of media professionals and came to the conclusion that conflict-area media

reporting can offer a useful database on the impact of armed violence on weak groups,

including journalists, to improve human security. They argued that media coverage and

subsequent publishing are the most reliable ways to inform the world community and affect the

direction of policy on human security. In Haiti, public abuse of practitioners, including verbal

abuse and other types of abuse, is on the rise.

Despite the fact that Nigeria's transition from military to democratic governance took more than

20 years, violence against journalists is still a persistent problem. Accordingly, Ujene, I. G., and

Ojedokun, U. The article by (2021) tries to investigate violent attack patterns on journalists in

Lagos, Nigeria. The findings demonstrated that attacks on journalists are a routine occurrence

in the city, with more incidents often being reported around general election time. Respondents

named three main causes as the root causes of violent attacks on journalists. Additionally, it

was stated that political thugs and security officers were the main perpetrators of violent attacks

on journalists.

Reference:

Aguilar Jr, F. V., Mendoza, M. P., & Candelaria, A. L. K. (2014). Keeping the state at bay: The

killing of journalists in the Philippines, 1998-2012. Critical Asian Studies, 46(4), 649-677.
Bartman, J. M. (2018). Murder in Mexico: are journalists victims of general violence or targeted

political violence?. Democratization, 25(7), 1093-1113.

Ibrahim, A. M., Pate, U. A., & Usman, A. M. (2020). Silencing the Media and Chaining the

Watchdog: Threats to Journalist Safety During Elections in Nigeria. In Handbook of

Research on Combating Threats to Media Freedom and Journalist Safety (pp. 214-240).

IGI Global.

Landé, C. (1964). Leaders, Followers and Factions: The Structure of Philippine Politics.

Mitra, S., Høiby, M., & Garrido, M. (2021). Medium-specific threats for journalists: Examples

from Philippines, Afghanistan and Venezuela. Journalism Practice, 15(1), 80-98.

Neupane, D., & Zeng, L. (2014). Condition of Nepali journalists after the 2008 constituent

assembly election. Journal of International Communication, 20(1), 87-97.

Sarmiento, F. J. L. (2013). The Maguindanao Massacre: A Serious Challenge to Human

Security in the Philippines. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 19, 55-68.

Taback, N., & Coupland, R. (2006). Security of journalists: making the case for modelling armed

violence as a means to promote human security. Thinking outside the box in multilateral

disarmament and arms control negotiations. Geneva: UN Institute for Disarmament

Research, 191-206.

Tandoc Jr, E. C. (2017). Watching over the watchdogs: The problems that Filipino journalists

face. Journalism Studies, 18(1), 102-117.

Ujene, I. G., & Ojedokun, U. (2021). Patterns of violent attacks targeting journalists in Lagos,

Nigeria. Journal of aggression, conflict and peace research.