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Mass media in the Philippines consists of several types of media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and websites.
In 2004, the Philippines had 225 television stations, 369 AM radio broadcast stations, 583 FM radio broadcast stations, 10 internet radio stations, 5 shortwave stations and 7 million newspapers in circulation. [1]
Media outlets, such as PTV/RPN/IBC (television) and the Philippine Broadcasting Service (radio), are government-run, while most outlets are privately owned. [1]
The most widely read newspapers are the Manila Bulletin , The Philippine Star , Philippine Daily Inquirer , Business Mirror , and BusinessWorld . [1]
Much media ownership is concentrated in the hands of prominent families and businesses. Consequently, some reports tend to be one-sided presentations favoring special interests. The privately owned press also tends toward sensationalism at times. [1]
While the media companies are predominantly owned by moneyed and influential tycoons, the Filipino readers are given the option with the advent of the new media and this has leveled the playing field. Reputable online news publications or news portals, blog sites, and other online available resources has disrupted the readership of other giant news media companies.
Some giant media companies in the broadcasting industry have adapted also in the online news portal this include GMA Network, ABS-CBN Corporation, TV5 Network, and government owned television network PTV4. This strategy was strongly considered due to the growing number of Filipinos who use social media instead of television in watching the news through snippets or short video clips.
Due to the proliferation of disinformation and fake news, Filipino readers have turned to alternative news sources.[ citation needed ] Other alternative media outlets present in the Philippines include Tudla Productions, Southern Tagalog Exposure, Mayday Multimedia, Altermidya, [2] and Bulatlat. [3]
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. According to the Constitution, under Article XVI, Section 10, the State is obligated to "provide the policy environment for … the balanced flow of information into, out of, and across the country, in accordance with a policy that respects the freedom of speech and of the press." The Constitution also guarantees freedom of the press under Article III, Section 4. [4] The Office of the President is responsible for managing the government's policy toward the press.
The Philippines is also a signatory to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims to protect freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. [5]
Although independent observers credit the government with respecting freedom of the press in general, the government has been criticized for failing to investigate thoroughly summary killings of journalists and for subjecting journalists to harassment and surveillance. [6] In addition to killings, journalists in the Philippines have been victims of various forms of threats and attacks, including verbal assault and intimidation, physical assault, and libel charges. Journalists have also been blacklisted from covering public events. [7]
In August 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law expanding the Shield Law or Sotto Law; the new law expanded protection of journalists to include broadcast and online journalists from disclosing confidential sources of "any news item, report or information appearing or being reported or disseminated" unless the court or Congress "finds that such revelation is demanded by the security of the State". [8]
The Philippines is among the most dangerous countries in the world according to various media watchdogs. The fifth annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index released by the international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has placed the Philippines among the worst-ranked countries for 2006 at 142nd place. It indicated the continuing murders of journalists and increased legal harassment in the form of libel suits as part of the problem in the Philippines. [9] Between 1986 and 2005, 52 journalists have been murdered [10] and most of their killers go unpunished. [11]
The Committee to Protect Journalists ranked the Philippines among the deadliest and most dangerous places for journalists. [12] The Philippines was also ranked as the most dangerous country in Asia for journalists in 2018 according to the Philippine Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, which tallied 85 attacks on the media in 2018 under President Rodrigo Duterte. [13]
Libel and online libel are criminal offenses in the Philippines. [14] [15] Penalties for online libel include imprisonment for a maximum of 12 years and a fine of a maximum of ₱1,000,000. [16] Since the American colonial period in the Philippines, libel laws have been used to stifle dissent. Media organizations contend that libel has been "used by people in power to harass journalists and muzzle critical reportage". [16]
There were 37 cases of libel and oral defamation recorded from July 2016 to April 2021. Eighteen of these were online libel, while 8 of the 37 cases also led to arrests of journalists. [7]
There was a rise in libel and cyber libel cases in the country in 2020, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). [17] Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was among those convicted of cyber libel in a 2020 case involving the retroactive application of a then new cybercrime law to an article that had been published years before. [18]
Media watchdogs have called on Congress to decriminalize libel and cyber libel, with the NUJP noting how these are "commonly used weapons against independent journalism." [19] Makabayan lawmakers and United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan have also called for the decriminalization of libel. [20]
Journalists have been subjected to red-tagging and other forms of harassment, such as surveillance, doxing, and extortion. Red-tagging endangers journalists and makes them vulnerable to violence and to being jailed on trumped up charges, such as illegal possession of firearms. [7] [21] Media organizations and journalists have also been subjected to vilification and various forms of intimidation. [22]
Government agencies, such as the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict chaired by the President of the Philippines, have used red-tagging against journalists. From June 2016 to April 2021, there have been 51 cases of intimidation of journalists, including 30 cases of red-tagging. [7]
The Department of Justice filed five cases in Philippine courts against Rappler, which publishes articles critical of the Philippine government. The filing of cases has been seen as part of efforts to intimidate, threaten, and ultimately shut down the website. [23] Then-President Rodrigo Duterte also threatened to shut down over alleged tax liabilities the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which published reports critical of the Philippine government's war on drugs. [23]
Before the declaration of martial law in September 1972, mass media in the Philippines functioned as a government watchdog and source of information for citizens. Marcos exerted considerable effort to stifle the free press, which is considered a key feature of a functioning democracy. [24] He shut down media outlets and set up set up print and broadcast outlets that he controlled through his cronies. In doing so, he silenced public criticism and opposition by controlling information that the people had access to. This allowed him to have the final say on what passed as truth. [25]
By controlling the press, the dictatorship was able to suppress negative news and create an exaggerated perception of progress. [26]
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr., commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current President of the Philippines. He previously served as a senator from 2010 to 2016. He is the second child and only son of 10th President, kleptocrat and dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN. She will become Professor of Professional Practice in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University on July 1, 2024, and will be a Distinguished Fellow at Columbia's new Institute of Global Politics beginning in the fall of 2023.
Antonio Fuentes Trillanes IV is a retired Philippine naval officer who also served as a senator of the Philippines from 2007 to 2019. He is known for his involvement in the Oakwood mutiny of 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007 in protest against the Arroyo administration, and as a vocal critic of the Duterte administration.
Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist serving as a Senator since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representative for Akbayan from 2004 to 2010.
Martial law in the Philippines refers to the various historical instances in which the Philippine head of state placed all or part of the country under military control—most prominently during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, but also during the Philippines' colonial period, during the second world war, and more recently on the island of Mindanao during the administrations of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. The alternative term "martial law era" as applied to the Philippines is typically used to describe the Marcos martial law period specifically.
Jose Manuel Tadeo Icasiano "Chel" Diokno is a Filipino lawyer, educator, and human rights advocate. He serves as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), the founding dean of the De La Salle University College of Law, and the chairman of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation. He has served as a special counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines that was approved on September 12, 2012. It aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the Philippines. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.
Radio in the Philippines refers to radio programs, radio stations, and radio broadcasting organizations in the country. Estimates on the number or radio stations range from 1,200 to 1,500.
Rappler is a Filipino online news website based in Pasig, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It was founded by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa along with a group of fellow Filipino journalists as well as technopreneurs. It started as a Facebook page named MovePH in August 2011 and evolved into a website on January 1, 2012.
In the Philippines, censorship involves the control of certain information.
The presidential transition of Rodrigo Duterte started when then-Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippine presidential election on May 9, 2016. Duterte topped the official count by the Congress of the Philippines on May 27, 2016, with 16,601,997 votes, 6.6 million more than his closest rival. The joint bicameral Congress proclaimed Duterte as the President-elect and Leni Robredo as the Vice President-elect on May 30, 2016.
Proclamation No. 216 was the 2017 proclamation of martial law and suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao amid clashes between government forces and Maute group terrorists in Marawi, issued by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on May 23, 2017. The state of martial law was extended thrice by Congress at the request of Duterte, citing necessity to quell hostile activities perpetrated by terrorist groups, and ended with the third extension lapsing on December 31, 2019.
Protests against Former President Rodrigo Duterte escalated on November 18, 2016, following Duterte's support of the burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos. These series of protests are mostly conducted by progressive groups and other opposing figures mainly due to the ongoing war on drugs, the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, and employment issues such as contractual terms being applied by companies and inflation which occurred due to the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law. Other causes of the protests include the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and the shutdown and franchise denial of ABS-CBN.
Vera Files is a non-profit online news organization in the Philippines, known for its institutionalized role in fact-checking false information in the Philippines, and as one of the news organizations most prominently targeted by intimidation and censorship due to its critical coverage of the Philippine government. It is part of the International Fact-Checking Network of the Poynter Institute and is one of Facebook's two Philippine partners in its third-party fact-checking program.
Rey Joseph "RJ" Pengson Nieto, known also by his alias Thinking Pinoy, is a Filipino blogger and opinion columnist. He writes an op-ed column for the Manila Bulletin and also owns a blog site, where he publishes his opinions on Filipino politics. A well-known and vocal supporter of Rodrigo Duterte, he has drawn controversies and faced legal proceedings for allegations of libel and spreading disinformation, as well as his counter-criticisms against he and the administration's critics.
Red-tagging in the Philippines is the malicious blacklisting and harassment of individuals or organizations critical or not fully supportive of the actions of a sitting government administration in the country. These individuals and organizations are "tagged" as either communist or terrorist or both, regardless of their actual political beliefs or affiliations. It is a type of incitement and has pernicious effects on its targets. Red-tagging may be performed by either security forces, government officials or shills.
The renewal of the congressional franchise of the Philippine media network ABS-CBN to continue broadcasting was a dispute between the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and the media conglomerate arising on the terms and conditions of the franchise renewal agreement. Amid the controversy, the Congress of the Philippines, country's legislature, was unable to renew the franchise before its expiration date. The congressional franchise expired on May 4, 2020, as the Philippines was dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. The next day, exercising constitutional powers, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) then issued a cease-and-desist order demanding ABS-CBN to cease all of its free TV and radio broadcasting immediately. ABS-CBN complied with the government order and shut down all of its radio stations and free television channels later that day. On June 30, 2020, the NTC released two alias cease-and-desist orders against ABS-CBN TV Plus and Sky Direct.
People of the Philippines v. Santos, Ressa and Rappler (R-MNL-19-01141-CR), also known as the Maria Ressa cyberlibel case, is a high-profile criminal case in the Philippines, lodged against Maria Ressa, co-owner and CEO of Rappler Inc.. Accused of cyberlibel, Ressa was found guilty by a Manila Regional Trial Court on June 15, 2020.
The first 100 days of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency began on June 30, 2016, the day Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated as the 16th president of the Philippines. The concept of the first 100 days of a presidential term was first adopted in the Philippines by President Corazon Aquino from the United States and has since been used as a gauge of presidential success and activism, and is a considered the "honeymoon period" where traditional critics are urged to refrain from detracting the new president. The 100th day of his presidency ended at noon on October 8, 2016.
Lorraine Marie Tablang Badoy-Partosa, better known as Lorraine Badoy and sometimes also called Lorraine Partosa, is a Filipino physician, government official, and political figure best known for having been one of the spokespersons of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, and for being involved in various controversies relating to the practice of red-tagging in the Philippines.
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