DAVAO CITY, Philippines – United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan said threats to freedom of expression in the Philippines may worsen with continuing red-tagging, media repression and impunity.
Khan made this statement this week as she presented her formal report following her visit to the Philippines last year that looked at the state of freedom in the country.
The rapporteur said that the media landscape in the country is increasingly under political attacks and institutional failings that have “endangered both freedom of expression and the right to vote.”
One case often cited by media groups and rights advocates is that of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained in Leyte since 2020 whom Khan had visited last year.
Cumpio, then aged 20 during her arrest, was editor and broadcaster of Eastern Vista in Leyte. She was charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives and terrorism financing, charges that the groups said were trumped-up.
The detained journalist had written a follow-up letter to Khan which she presented to an international press freedom groups who visited her last June 18.
Khan noted such case in her report of “the vilification of independent journalists and human rights defenders, including through social media attacks and legal harassment.”
“Public officials have sought to discredit independent media as liars, traitors, or foreign agents… The media has been captured by actors aligned with states or other powerful interests,” she noted on her report.
She also pointed to systemic judicial delays, prolonged pre-trial detentions, and the refusal to grant bail even when there is no flight risk as practices that “make a travesty of justice, equating the innocent with the guilty.”
Cumpio was detained for four years before she stood trial for those charges.
While the Marcos Jr administration had told her during the visit that it does not condone red-tagging, a practice that intensified during the term of President Duterte, Khan emphasized that individuals continue to claim they are being harassed or endangered.
Red-tagging and NTF-ELCAC
Former Bayan Muna Representative and human rights lawyer Carlos Zarate said Khan’s report “merely confirms” what many media workers, activists, and rights defenders have long experienced on the ground.
He said the continued red-tagging and harassment of government critics are made possible by existing laws and institutions such as the Anti-Terrorism Law and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“NTF-ELCAC is the number one promoter of red-tagging in the Philippines. It refuses to even acknowledge that red-tagging exists, despite a Supreme Court ruling that it endangers life and liberty.”
Khan also recommended the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC saying this agency’s red-tagging sent a chilling effect on freedom of expression. (https://www.bulatlat.com/2024/11/30/irene-khan-asks-ph-have-you-reviewed-cases-vs-journalists-already/)
Human rights group Karapatan noted that during the Duterte administration, activists who were red-tagged were later killed or faced legal cases.
Zarate also said that the charges against Cumpio were meant to send a message to silence the critical press and discourage others from reporting on human rights violations and government abuse.
“That is why the presence of community journalists is very important, independent journalists like Frenchie Mae Cumpio because they present the other picture. Because they are not being hampered by self-censorship or fear of offending owners of the media establishment or the network they are serving,” Zarate said.
He added that if the government is serious about protecting press freedom, it must dismantle the very apparatus it uses to suppress it.
“The challenge to the Marcos administration is to abolish NTF-ELCAC, because for the longest time it has undermined the democratic rights of our people.” (davaotoday.com)
