Stand Point

Greetings from the Philippines! We hope this letter finds you safe and well during such difficult times.

We – the families of the journalists killed in the Ampatuan massacre, as well as media groups, civil society organizations, and concerned citizens who have stood with them in their continuing search for justice – wish to express our distress and disappointment as news reports, including from government media, have called attention to UNESCO’s classification of the entire case as “resolved” and citing this as an accomplishment of the Duterte administration and its efforts to protect journalists.

Today, July 30, 2020, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines turns 34 during what may be the most challenging and perilous time for our profession and, yes, the truth.

We, the undersigned journalists, editors and workers from different media organizations, express our solidarity with thousands of our colleagues in ABS-CBN who risk losing their jobs after the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises denied the network a fresh 25-year franchise.

STATEMENT: National Union of Journalists of the Philippines

As in years past, we observe World Press Freedom Day more for the lack than the reality.

Most-Merciful and Ever-Loving God
Listen to the cry and hear the plea of Your people.

WE, MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS, journalists, press freedom advocates and academics, raise our collective voice and declare our opposition to government requiring journalists to secure accreditation from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) to be exempted from the enhanced community quarantine. While we recognize the gravity of the situation, we assert that this imposition is unnecessary, unreasonable and unconstitutional.

We believe that blocking ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal is part of the ongoing assault of the administration on the media. From the unrelenting attacks against media organization Rappler, to the nonstop red-tagging and arrests of community journalists in the past months, as well as the cyberattacks on alternative news sites, it is apparent that the Duterte administration will stop at nothing to intimidate the media and invoke a chilling effect on its critics.

The voice in the wilderness echoes in the hollow recesses of the hearts of the human world that is filled with material want and hate. Such is the voice of the ministers at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines South Eastern Mindanao Jurisdiction Area (UCCP SEMJA), who have chosen to follow Jesus in His work with the poor and powerless.

The Philippine chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) joins the Filipino people in calling out justice for the victims of the Ampatuan massacre.

On December 19, the day set by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 for the promulgation of its much-awaited verdict on the Ampatuan massacre, it will be 10 years and 25 days since the killings occurred in Maguindanao on November 23, 2009.