THE Maguindanao massacre is considered to be the “worst election-related violence” and “world’s single-day deadliest attack against journalists,” after 32 media personnel were mercilessly slaughtered, along with 26 others, at Sitio Masalay, Ampatuan in Maguindanao province on November 23, 2009. Holding the masterminds Datu “Unsay” Andal Jr. and Zaldy Ampatuan accountable for the grievous crime was a welcome respite after the agonizing wait for justice for the victims and the bereaved families.
In the 2019 report by the press freedom advocates Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Philippines is among the Southeast Asian countries that was at the bottom World Press Freedom Index (WPFI). It is currently ranked 134, a notch down from 133 last year. When WPFI started in 2002, the Philippine ranked 82 and was considered to have the freest press.
However, Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) former executive director Tess Bacalla said the numbers do not necessarily represent the real state of press freedom in a country, as much as the conviction of the Ampatuans does not assure the protection of media in the future.
She shared that the press in Timor Leste who advanced 11 spots in the WPFI, continues to be in a “precarious state”.
“Among the highlights of the report, based on the respondents’ responses, was [that] too many journalists suffered direct attacks from public and private individuals for simply doing their jobs,” she said at the opening plenary of the Investigative Journalism Conference organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) at the Novotel Manila Hotel on November 26 to 28, 2019.
Goons of the Ampatuans reportedly attacked the journalists while on their way to cover the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu for gubernatorial elections in 2010.
In this case, politics motivated the impunity. On top of it are the oppressive laws that Seapa described to have been “weaponized” to “intimidate the media, and silence dissent and critical reporting” and creates a “climate of fear and self-censorship” despite the protection of freedom of speech and press as guaranteed by the Constitution.
But the PCIJ noted that apart from laws and politics, the journalists are confronted with another enemy in the age of internet and social media.
“We are in an information war. It’s a war between facts and falsehood. But we are not merely reporting on this war. We are also its targets,” PCIJ founding executive director Sheila Coronel said.
She said some media organizations have recently been putting a prime on increasing social media engagements through fake news, or click baits, oftentimes compromising quality content.
“The social web, as we know, is run by algorithms that are optimized for sharing. These algorithms are built to prioritize high-quality content, not high-quality content in the public interest. They are built for maximum emotional engagement. The angrier, the more hateful, the more divisive the post, the more it is shared. The more they were shared, the more they were prioritized in your news,” she said.
She said these trends are also being taken advantage of by people in power, whether the subjects of stories or the one who holds the organization’s survival.
“Chasing clickbait and ratings over truth-telling can erode the credibility of journalism in the long run,” Coronel warned.
“We should remember that as journalists we make choices every day. If we give prominence to the voice of authority, we become the megaphone for a talk currency and drown out the cries of victims and the voices of resistance, we amplify one side to the detriment of the other,” she added.
Colonel also reminded journalists to remain true to the facts and rethink journalism standards - fairness, neutrality, and balance in the “poisoned information space.”
These realities have become the springboard of the PCIJ to further intensify its self-imposed mandate that “the free and independent press must provide facts and knowledge to inform public debate” through its recent investigative journalism conference.
The conference is also in commemoration of the 30th year of the organization’s pursuit of exposing corruption, military adventurism, human rights abuses, the destruction of the environment, the holds of political families in the people’s political life, the broken justice system and the abuse of power by succession of presidents, among others.
National and regional journalists of different platforms and communication advisers from various institutions in the country took turns as speakers, moderators, and participants in the about 21 breakout sessions.
The topics ranged from the practical concepts (covering human rights, branches of the government, wealth of public officials, elections and money politics, mining, foreign trade and policies, Mindanao and areas of conflict, environment), technical and digital skills (data journalism, podcasting, mobile journalism, documentaries for various platforms, crowdsourcing for content and audience engagement, people and trail in the digital age, accessing public records through freedom of information), and media survival (libel, ethics, and responding to attacks and threats).
The challenges of commercial media and the gaps between journalism education and the practice were also discussed.
The press freedom ranking of the Philippines may be contradictory to its real story. But they are saying the same thing: the media and the press in the country are still not free.