Activity 1: Compare the bases of the government censorship in the Press in the 19th century versus the
contemporary government's reason for censorship.
19th century (past)
1. The late nineteenth century was a
watershed due to political, financial, and
social changes that "opened up" the
province. The colonial government
regulated the production and circulation of
literature. Censorship was in force,
restricting the entry into the colony of
books like those of Victor Hugo,
Alexander Dumas, and Eugene Sue. Even
Cervantes' Don Quixote became initially
banned for depicting "immoral customs."
Yet, the force of social, economic changes
created openings for the emergence of
Filipino writing in Spanish.
2. During the 19th century the government
censor’s literature of propagandists, who
rooted for reform and revolution in the
country, exposing the abuse and
corruption of the Spanish Government.
The print media in the Philippines has
been instrumental in promoting the
government so strict censorship and
constant supervision were the friar policy.
Contemporary (present)
1. The government is now censoring
media and articles that can poorly be
displayed; the freedom of the press is
being suppressed by the officials.
Amnesty International condemns the
Philippine government's latest efforts
to clamp down on the media. President
Duterte decided by ruling the
exchange Commission and revoke
Rappler media's registration for
ownership because he had enough of
the fake news circulating that his
spoke person said was from Rappler
media. However, the press has
maintained the truth of their reports
about the president and his
administration.
2. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and
his camp have been praised for their
adept social-media strategy during the
campaign. He rose to the presidency,
said, on the back of social media,
whose power his team harnessed in
unprecedented and highly effective
ways. News broke on June 1.
Facebook had deleted veteran
journalist Ed Lingao’s May 24 post
that criticized Duterte’s statement that
he would allow the burial of the late
dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the
Libingan ng Mga Bayani. Lingao said
the post became deleted for allegedly
violating Facebook’s “community
standards.” A follow-up post
documenting the comments he
received from social media users was
also deleted. Lingao posted an edited
version of his original post, but it was
also taken down. Facebook restored it
later, apologizing for the “mistake.”
 Reference
Enano, J. (2018). Duterte’s ban on Rappler reporter slammed as ‘censorship’. Retrieved from

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/970484/dutertes-ban-on-rappler-reporter-slammed-as-censorship

Mojares, R. (n.d). Philippine Literature in Spanish. GOVPH. Retrieved from https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-

3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-the-arts-sca/literary-arts/philippine-literature-in-spanish/