BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
TRUTH-TELLING is the work of journalists, writers and broadcasters and the duty of church leaders above all. Telling and writing the truth about wrong-doing, injustice, exploitation and abuse is above all the only way to bring the rule of law and respect for human rights and civilization to a nation, expectantly one that claims to be democratic, free and open to the truth.
In the Philippines, we are far from that goal as shown by the recent assassination of journalist Percival Mabasa, 63, who was shot dead with two bullets to the head while in his car at Las Pinas in Metro Manila. He was a brave, outspoken radio journalist who may have angered some politicians with his allegations of wrongdoing.
His radio broadcast name was Percy Lapid. No one has been arrested for the fatal shooting and police are looking into the assassination. An official of the Marcos government Hubert Guevara, senior deputy executive secretary, has been tasked to pursue an investigation following a national outcry demanding justice.
On September 18 last, radio broadcaster Renato Blanco was stabbed to death in Negros Oriental in the Central Philippines adding to the toll of 187 murdered and assassinated Filipino journalists in the past 35 years, according to Reporters without Borders. In one mass killing alone, on 23 November 2009, as many as 32 reporters and writers were killed in a massacre together with followers of a politician in Mindanao. The Philippines is among the most dangerous places to be a journalist besides war zones.
The voices of truth that challenge the powers that rule are facing numerous court cases under the harsh cyber-libel law that is said to curb and limit free speech. The internationally renowned and Time Magazine front cover journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, the founder of on-line news agency Rappler, and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr., had their appeal rejected and conviction of libel upheld by the Court of Appeals last 10 October 2022. They are facing serious jail time.
The Court of Appeals justices in their 16-page decision rejecting the motion for reconsideration of the conviction said: “In conclusion, it [is] worthy and relevant to point out that the conviction of the accused-appellants for the crime of cyber-libel punishable under the Cybercrime Law is not geared towards the curtailment of the freedom of speech, or to produce a seemingly chilling effect on the users of cyberspace that would possibly hinder free speech.”
In fact, the court said, the purpose of the law is to “safeguard the right of free speech, and to curb, if not totally prevent, the reckless and unlawful use of the computer systems as a means of committing the traditional criminal offenses…”
In her response to the decision, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa, a dual U.S.-Filipino citizen said, ‘The ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against me and Rappler continues, and the Philippines legal system is not doing enough to stop it.’
Last July 14 when the conviction was first handed down, Irene Khan, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression said:
“The criminalization of journalists for libel impedes public interest reporting and is incompatible with the right to freedom of expression,” she said as posted on the UN human rights commission’s website. “Criminal libel law has no place in a democratic country and should be repealed,” she added. (To be continued)/PN
