AS THE country observed National Press Freedom Day on Saturday, August 30, 2025, journalism partners convened in Cebu to discuss crucial issues involving media survivability and security amidst a backdrop of harassment, threats, and the killing of journalists.
During a forum held at the Marcelo Fernan Cebu Press Center, lawyer and media professor Ian Vincent Manticajon counted at least 11 killings, multiple shooting attempts, and various harassment cases against journalists between 1949 and 2024.
Many of the cases, Manticajon said, remain unsolved.
Manticajon said these cases raise critical questions on justice, impunity, and protection mechanisms and should serve as an important point of reflection for media professionals on National Press Freedom Day.
The forum brought together the Cebu Journalism and Journalists (CJJ), a non-profit publication based in Cebu City devoted to media-related issues; the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), a national association of newspapers; the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO); local media practitioners; and students from various universities.
Regional Public Attorney Maria G-Ree Calinawan detailed services the PAO can provide to media practitioners such as legal advice and documentation.
“Even if it is a government personnel or an official that we are going against, we are still mandated to help the person going against that, as long as the case is meritorious,” she explained.
Calinawan said these services are also available to campus journalists who are considered indigent.
To qualify, a media professional’s net income should not exceed P22,000 for those in Cebu, P24,000 for those in the National Capital Region, and P20,000 in other provinces.
The discussion also delved into the challenges of media survival.
PPI executive director Ariel Sebelleno cited the “existential crisis” journalism faced during the pandemic, noting the rise of content creators and the problem of legitimate media content being “scrapped” by larger online entities.
Sebelleno said journalists and journalism itself faced a serious survival challenge.
However, Sebelleno expressed optimism that the post-pandemic state of journalism is “going back” gradually to its normal form.
He said the public has increasingly returned to legitimate media outlets due to the outlets’ “consistency of credibility.”
Sabellano said discussions on media survival should be prioritized alongside topics like media ethics and excellence. / JPS