COURSE LEARNING PACKETS TEMPLATE Document Code FM-STL-014

Saint Louis University Revision No. 02

School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity December 2021
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ACTIVITY 2 Comparing the past and present 19th-century censorship press

Compare the bases of the government censorship in the Press in the 19th century versus
the contemporary government’s reason for censorship. Give only two. (20 points)

19the Century (past) Contemporary (present)

1. For decades, the illegal imperialistic
power of the government and the friars
has restricted free expression. It was
illegal at the time to challenge a higher
authority's decision. The public's voices
are ignored, and the government's and
friar's views are the only ones heard in
the country. They restricted and
curtailed everyone's freedom, refusing
to allow them to question higher
authorities' judgments. Furthermore,
individuals who do not cooperate have
feared harsh punishment or death, thus
for how many years have Filipinos kept
their lips shut and been scared to speak
out against the governing colony.
1. The emergence of online journalism was
accompanied by censorship. Government
authorities would examine the content of
newspapers, journals, books, movies, news
broadcasts, and articles before releasing
them online, suppressing or altering it so that
only material considered acceptable made
it to the public. This is attributable to an
uptick in false news and online violence. The
government has restricted access to
untrustworthy websites and web pages in
order to safeguard the public.

2. The government and the friars resist
the publication of Rizal's books. They
feared that if the people read it, it
would expose the government's and
church's corruption, negativity, and
greedy iron system. Because the
majority of Rizal's writings deal with the
state of the Philippines and how the
Filipinos are treated by colonists,
permitting them to reach the public
would be detrimental to the colonizers.
They were worried that if their atrocities
were made public, their followers or
believers would turn against them,
encouraging a larger revolt. They were
worried that their power would be
questioned, therefore they restricted
journalistic freedom at the time.
2. As the political and economic crisis
worsens, the government and its supporters
appear to have unleashed a new weapon:
the clandestine acquisition of some of the
country's most troublesome private media
firms in order to silence critical reporting.
They make sure that whatever news,
articles, or information they are going to
publish will not cause concern among the
public. For the sake of the Filipinos'
wellbeing, they limit what they would
publish through the media.

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