DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Amid continued threats to press freedom, journalists and members of student publications in Davao City said revisiting ethical reporting practices is essential to protecting the credibility and integrity of the media.
The Philippine press continues to face red-tagging, legal harassment, political and commercial pressures and worse—killings.
Journalists shared their experiences with ethical dilemmas during a reporting ethics seminar organized by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in partnership with UNESCO and Davao Today on Sept. 5.
The speakers said community journalists often face pressure from low pay, which some said has led peers to engage in unethical practices — making credibility and integrity harder to sustain.
Contextual accuracy
Ronalyn Olea, NUJP Secretary-General, stressed that getting the facts right remains a fundamental responsibility of journalists, but said accuracy goes beyond simply repeating statements from officials or other sources.
“It’s not just interviews—we also observe what’s happening. Because people and documents can lie. That’s why corroboration is essential. Not just a single source,” Olea told the seminar participants.
She emphasized that journalists should not treat official claims as automatically true, particularly when reporting statistics and statements from government agencies.
She said journalists must verify raw or unsubstantiated claims even when they are released by official sources. “It should not be treated as a presumption of regularity, because much of what they say is unfortunately not true.”
She discussed the concept of contextual accuracy, saying journalists should examine how statistics and claims are produced.
“When you are presented with those statistics—unemployment, poverty that’s always low—what will you look for? Ask the experts outside the official sources. Because they’re [the everyday Filipinos] the ones experiencing, day by day, what 90 pesos of cash is worth,” Olea said.
Zyrelle Malabute, editor-in-chief of UP Mindanao student publication Himati and one of the participants, said the seminar reinforced the need to prioritize verification even when student journalists are working under deadline pressure.
“Sometimes, this makes me less diligent in conducting desk research and turns me into a passive stenographer. The discussions on Saturday reminded me that journalism is also about having the discipline to seek and verify the truth,” Malabute told Davao Today.
‘No free lunch’
Sharing her experiences covering Mindanao-wide stories, veteran journalist Carol Arguillas stressed the need for journalists to establish clear boundaries to protect their independence.
“The question is, can you resist temptation? If you’re a journalist, you should have your non-negotiables. Be clear about what your non-negotiables are so you don’t compromise your principles,” Arguillas said.
Money, free meals, and gifts from sources are among the temptations journalists may encounter in their work, Arguillas said, urging them to ask who ultimately pays for such benefits and whether accepting them could create an obligation to the source.
“What does this free lunch actually mean? There’s no such thing as free lunch, as they say—especially if you’re a journalist. So, with Christmas gift, the same question applies: whose money paid for it? Was it personal funds, or does the money behind those giveaways also come from taxpayers? We should be asking that, shouldn’t we? Because it will shape whether you accept it or not,” she said.
Objectivity not always possible
Olea challenged the notion that fairness in journalism means mechanically presenting two opposing sides of a story.
She said stories can involve multiple perspectives and that journalists should seek relevant context rather than simply giving equal space to competing claims.
“Objectivity is not always possible. Actually, most of the time, it’s impossible,” Olea said, explaining that journalists already make choices about whom to interview and what evidence to examine even before writing a story.
Instead, she said journalists should use critical thinking and verification to determine what the evidence supports.
“We get at the facts, we provide context, we interpret the facts, and give that to our audiences so that they can discern the truth and know what to do. That is our job,” she added.
Chelsea Jamias, editor-in-chief of Ateneo de Davao University’s student publication Atenews, said applying these principles can be complicated when student journalists report on people they personally know.
“Covering university events, sometimes our news subjects are classmates, friends or professors that we can easily approach. These relationships could also impede our independent reportage when objectivity requires us to write stories that may be unfavorable to them,” Jamias told Davao Today.
The seminar also emphasized the responsibility of journalists to minimize harm, particularly when covering survivors of violence, children and other vulnerable groups.
Olea cited coverage of victims and families during the early years of the Duterte administration’s drug war, when some relatives refused to reveal their identities for fear of retaliation.
“Our constant guide should be our moral compass. Will this cause harm—or are we doing this simply because we want an exclusive? she asked.
Press freedom under pressure
Paul Soriano, also a member of the NUJP and a member of the Board of Directors of the Filipino Freelance Journalists Guild, placed the discussion on ethics against the broader backdrop of threats confronting Philippine media.
Soriano said the union had documented hundreds of cases of attacks on journalists and media organizations, with its records listing government-affiliated individuals and state security forces among the leading perpetrators.
The Philippines’ position in the World Press Freedom Index improved slightly, but Soriano cautioned against interpreting the change as proof of a substantially better press freedom environment.
“Our documentation, monitoring, and records would say the improvement in the press freedom situation is not that evident if the cases we document continue without pause. And year after year, a journalist still gets killed,” Soriano said.
He highlighted the case of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who remains in detention over terrorism-financing charges.
Soriano said the use of terrorism-related charges and red-tagging against journalists is particularly alarming because allegations linking journalists to armed or communist groups can undermine their credibility and expose them to further threats.
“For us at NUJP, we can only say the media freedom situation has improved if cases like Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s receive adequate attention,” he said.
Tools of harassment
He also discussed the use of libel, cyberlibel, and other legal complaints as tools of harassment.
Even when cases are eventually dismissed, Soriano said, the process itself can consume a journalist’s time, money and energy and discourage further reporting.
“It’s really not about whether the case will push through or whether the journalist will be convicted, but it’s how these handicap journalists,” Soriano said.
He also stressed that press freedom should not be viewed as an issue exclusive to journalists.
Without independent media, he said, the public would have fewer reliable sources of information needed to make everyday decisions.
“If no information reaches the public, how will they make decisions every day?” Soriano asked. (davaotoday.com)
