press freedom

‘Dangerous’ to report critically on gov’t? Roque insists Duterte respects free press

Pia Ranada

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

‘Dangerous’ to report critically on gov’t? Roque insists Duterte respects free press
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque thinks the sentiment was influenced by congressional hearings on the ABS-CBN franchise, which came about because President Rodrigo Duterte threatened the media network

Though a survey found that more than half of Filipinos think it’s dangerous business to print or broadcast anything critical of the Duterte administration, Malacañang insists President Rodrigo Duterte respects the freedom and independence of the media.

“Be that as it may, the Duterte administration continues to respect the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press in the country,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque on Saturday, August 8.

“Media remains alert and vibrant in their reportage of the government and the actions of officials,” he added.

In an attempt to bolster the claim, Roque said Duterte had not filed any libel case “against the political opposition.”

The spokesman believes the sentiment captured by the Social Weather Stations survey was due to the congressional hearings on broadcast giant ABS-CBN’s application for a franchise.

“This might have impressed upon the minds of the respondents who participated in the survey,” said Roque.

Consequence of Duterte’s media attacks

If Roque is correct, the SWS survey results offer proof that Filipinos think the ABS-CBN hearings had to do with its reportage on the Duterte government.

During the hearings, lawmakers loyal to the President repeatedly hurled accusations of biased reporting and aired out personal grievances against the network.

ABS-CBN executives and editors defended their journalism, saying they strictly abided by media ethics and sought to make corrections when mistakes were made.

Though Malacañang earlier claimed Duterte was “completely neutral” on the issue, the President eventually celebrated the eventual rejection of ABS-CBN’s franchise in a speech where he boasted of destroying ABS-CBN and other components of a supposed “oligarchy” without resorting to martial law.

While this speech came after the survey was conducted, Duterte has been threatening since 2017 to block ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal.

But it’s not just ABS-CBN that has been on the receiving end of Duterte’s wrath.

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The President has also frequently railed against online news site Rappler, banned its reporters from covering his activities, and claimed the organization violated the Constitution. In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked Rappler’s license to operate, based on accusations similar to Duterte’s. (READ: TIMELINE: The case of Rappler’s SEC registration)

Rappler challenged the decision before the Court Appeals 6 months later. The CA then asked the SEC to review its decision against Rappler, saying the media group should have been given enough time to rectify the supposedly problematic provisions of a contact with a foreign investor.

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa has also been arrested twice and was convicted of cyber libel last June.

Apart from this, different agencies and officials of the government have red-tagged alternative media groups. – Rappler.com

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Pia Ranada

Pia Ranada is Rappler’s Community Lead, in charge of linking our journalism with communities for impact.