Journalist Blocked from Entering the Presidential Palace for Coverage: Reflecting the Endangered Free Press in the Philippines
Previously, the Philippine government barred several blogs, news sites, and news publications airing reports against its own programs tagged as “anti-people.” Just on February 20, 2018 (Philippine Standard Time), a journalist from Rappler, an independent online news publication, named Pia Ranada was ordered by the officials not to enter the Presidential palace for a news coverage. They stated that it was President Duterte himself who ordered the barring of the journalist. Furthermore, the CEO of the online news has also been blocked from entering the palace.
Among other publications and independent sites who claim to be progressive, Rappler is one on the hot list. As a history, Rappler has been known to be an anti-administration since the President took the seat. It has kept on airing the extrajudicial killings amidst the All-Out-War on Drugs. It has also been reporting about the indigenous peoples’ killings and militarization in the countryside. Many of its columnists are anti-Duterte. So undoubtedly, Rappler is one of the red-tagged by the government today. Taking from Rappler’s statement recently that it is “another instance of power attempting to intimidate independent journalists.” For worse, the ban will be effective as long as Duterte retains as the President of the country, and “not only today,” it added.
The palace was having its New Executive Building (NEB) when the journalist attempted to capture the event. The banning of the journalist is a form of fascism, and many agree with it. In fact, a league of Filipino independent bloggers and journalists are now calling for a nationwide protest to pressure the regime and push it to allow free press for the sake of democracy. They highlight fascism by telling that this administration is the second to block journalists from doing news coverage.
The first time happened during the Martial Law of Marcos when progressive journalists were entirely and officially banned from operating in news releases. So, journalists in the Philippines are now linking the pattern of fascism, martial law, and killings as the same with the first incident, and are now predicting the future full of killing incidents against journalists.
On the side of the government, it reported that Rappler failed to meet the requirements needed to be accepted as legal news teller of the country. It did not pass through the screening of the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC. However, the news publication is still considered as a trusted news press among the Filipinos. There are millions of Filipinos in the country and abroad who rely to them in latest Philippine news. Since 2011, it has been airing relevant news that caught the attention of the Filipinos. It began as a Facebook page by the name MovePH and expanded as an official news site in 2012.
It began being in the mainstream media when it reported Renato Corona, a former Philippine Chief Justice, that he graduated in the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines, without having to pass the required dissertation. For six years of active news service, enough to make the site credible to air news and trigger the government with its own misdeeds, the government is now being alert on toppling down the site and making it today as the top priority to be blacklisted from operating in the country.
When the free press is concerned, journalism tells that news reporting does not require legal processes when especially it is supported by the people. By then, the journalists are calling it a danger to free press that the government is attacking journalists who are reporting its own atrocities. If the world lacks people like them, who will be the one to differentiate right from wrong? Who will inform the world that there is something wrong happening in the corner out of reach or out of sight? Who will be asking the world for help for them? Definitely, free press is in danger in the Philippines.
The concern is not really to criticize the government, but to talk about how journalism should be treated and paid attention to or to make the people realize the worth of every single journalist for the restoration of humanity. All people can tell news, but only few who take the risk to defend them from those who are in power, and that is the point of emphasizing free press as an essential tool for a well-run country.
The blocking of a single journalist by a politically powerful man can be a step to a more dangerous one. When those in power hungry for monopoly would see this and observe that this act is acceptable when no one is standing against it, then they will do the same thing, pushing the world into a crisis. Also, it can also be an example of how absolute power could lead to a threat to justice. The incident could catch the attention of international journalists and will probably react on it without stopping until they can save Pia.
What else can a powerful man do if he is not pressured with this? An attack to free press can lead to another attack, and all the supporters of the current administration have just reacted positively on it. So the government now is thinking it is on its right tract. Are not they, the journalists, the key actors for every liberation and justice? In every social progress, journalists take pride of it. They are one of the main contributors of peace, justice, social revolution, and economic progress.
They would go through the septic tanks, bombed areas, warzones if they have to in order to provide information no one else can do, so the barring of Pia from entering the Malacanang Palace is a great insult to journalists and to democracy. Not emphasizing the government, but any other institution or individual trying to devalue journalism as well as freedom of expression by news information or simply free press. Those who attack free press also attack democracy.
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References:
https://www.rappler.com/nation/196474-duterte-orders-psg-stop-rappler-malacanang
https://en.m/wikipedia.rog/wiki/Rappler