Local

Democracy in the Philippines has been described variously in terms of “factionalism” and

“clientelism”, “caciquism” and “bossism” but the overall pattern has been clear (Landé 1964;

Scott 1972; Anderson 1988; Sidel 1999). Elected politicians have been drawn from the

landowning, commercial and industrial oligarchy of the archipelago, representing its interests

both directly and through delegation. Competition for political office has revolved around

contestation for the spoils of state power between rival families and factions within this ruling

class. Poverty and economic insecurity have combined with a highly decentralized political

structure to render the majority of Filipinos susceptible to clientelist, coercive, and monetary

inducements and pressures during elections.

Studying the problems that journalists face is important, considering the role that journalists play

in reporting about and legitimizing the problems that confront society. This study explores what

journalists in the Philippines, a young democracy with a unique media ecology, consider to be

the most important problem they face. Drawing on a survey of 349 Filipino journalists, Tandoc

Jr, E. C. (2017) study found that journalists in the Philippines are most concerned about low

pay, media violence, information access, and professionalism.

In Southeast Asia the Philippines holds the distinction of reporting the highest number of

murdered journalists between 1992 and 2012. This record makes the Philippines closer to

countries in other parts of the world characterized as “transitional” democracies. These

countries enjoy near full press freedom, but their institutional setting allows the perpetrators of

crimes to evade accountability. The authors of this article argue that explaining these murders

as due to state repression of progressive journalists in the Philippines ignores the complexity of

these killings. Aguilar Jr, F. V., Mendoza, M. P., & Candelaria, A. L. K. (2014) study shows that

journalists murdered for their occupation (classified as “motive confirmed”) did not threaten the
interests of the state as state but rather the interests of local power-holders. Thus, the killings of

mass media practitioners need to be understood in the context of local-level contestations over

positions and resources sanctioned by the state framework, particularly following the

decentralization since 1991. Preliminary data analysis of journalist deaths from 1998 to 2012

and selected case studies suggest that these killings are primarily local events, mostly in

provincial towns and cities.

Though the Philippines is not in a state of war, it is one of the most dangerous places to do

journalism in the world, and radio broadcasters based outside the capital Manila are particularly

vulnerable. Since CPJ begun to register attacks on the press in 1992, 79 journalist murders

have been registered in the Philippines. This compares to the total number of 1312 journalists

killed worldwide in the same period, meaning that the Philippines account for 6.02 per cent of all

journalists’ deaths for which motives have been confirmed. Among these journalists, more than

half worked for radio (41). One could surmise if a majority of these radio broadcasters were

killed closer in time to 1992, it would explain the phenomenon because of the prevailing media

technology at that time. But more than half of these murders (22) took place after 2006 and thus

well after the adoption of current media technologies.

Findings presented in Mitra, S., Høiby, M., & Garrido, M. (2021) are based on data gathered

through semi-structured interviews with five journalists and four expert sources in May 2017.

Four of the journalists (two Mindanao journalists and two Manila journalists) were consulted in a

group discussion about the differences in threats facing local and non-local journalists in

Mindanao. The other journalist and the expert sources were consulted through one-to-one

interviews. Expert sources here were persons regarded as having particular expertise about

anti-press violence in the country, in this case, they were representatives of the Philippine Union

of Journalists (NUJP) and the Philippine Centre of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), and the

Editor-in-chief of the news organization, Rappler, Maria Ressa. Ressa is also the author of
several books relevant to the topic in Southeast Asia (e.g., Ressa 2003). The findings about

threats faced by radio broadcasters, in particular, emerged in several interviews as a particular

concern of the interviewees when talking about the journalists who faced relatively greater risks.

Interviewees who were asked which reporters are more likely to receive threats answered

“radio” and as one interviewee said, “ … that’s based on the lists of killings; the majority of those

who are killed were actually from radio.”

In terms of political security, the Maguindanao massacre can be considered one of the worst

cases of human rights abuse in the country, involving the torture and killing of unarmed women

and journalists. The 57 victims died in the exercise of their constitutional rights (i.e., the right to

run for public office and support the candidate of one's choice, as well as the freedom of speech

and expression of political views) at the hands of people who have been entrusted to serve the

public by virtue of the office they held. Ernesto Ordoñez analyzed the Maguindanao Massacre

using the saying, “power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely” and Nobel Prize laureate

Aung San Suu Kyi's version of that saying: “it is not power that corrupts, but fear – fear of losing

power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are

subject to it” (2009: B6)

Foreign

Elections are frequently combined with shoddy judicial systems in electoral democracies. In

many nations, it is frequently difficult to determine whether the muting of critical voices is the

product of targeted violence—possibly even political violence—or merely an accident. In a

nation that experiences both attacks on its press and widespread criminal violence, Bartman

(2018) has tackled this issue. Although the official story in Mexico is that journalists are the

victims of random acts of violence, journalists and NGOs claim that they are frequently the

targets of political violence. Judging between these two conflicting stories is challenging
because criminal investigations into journalist murders frequently end in a failure to find the

killers. The analysis in this article shows, however, that journalists are at a much higher risk of

being killed than members of the general population. It also found that violence against

journalists varies widely across Mexico’s states, suggesting a subnational element to the

targeting of critical voices.

Dangers to media freedom and journalists' safety can take many different forms around the

world, according to Ibrahim and Usman (2020), and these threats truly reflect the sociopolitical

and economic context of each nation. Understanding national-level issues and concentrating on

a multi-stakeholder strategy to address online and offline threats to journalists and restrictions

on media freedom are urgently needed. To advance safe and free journalism entails developing

national policies, making wise decisions, and having discussions that are focused on finding

solutions. Additionally, the substance of the "UN 2030 Agenda with its 17 objectives and 169

targets" must be reflected in these activities. Specifically promoting the safety of journalists and

addressing the issue of impunity is Goal 16, which is to "promote peaceful and inclusive

societies for sustainable development, ensure access to justice for all, and establish effective,

responsible, and inclusive institutions at all levels."

The media's crucial role in setting the agenda, educating society, and influencing public opinion

makes it a risky job. For instance, in Nepal's unstable political climate, journalists were

threatened or occasionally killed for refusing to write on a subject, and these plots occasionally

extended to their relatives who were potential targets for attacks, according to Neupane & Zeng

(2014). According to their conclusions, the implementation of guaranteed rights is still far from

being completed, even though media freedom is expressly safeguarded in the Interim

Constitution. The capital city's situation is a little bit better than it is elsewhere in the nation. In

spite of this, threats and violence against journalists continue to occur countrywide as a result of

their reporting. Pressure comes from a variety of sources, including minority groups, the armed
forces, and even media executives. When it comes to providing journalists with security, the

government does a poor job.

From the position of Whittle, the freedom of media practitioners to collect information from the

public to help advocate the interest of society is central to the media profession, and he

established that the media should not be misconstrued as an integral part of security services.

Taback and Coupland (2006) investigated the security of media practitioners and concluded that

media reports from conflict zones can provide a meaningful database on the effect of armed

violence on vulnerable groups, including journalists, to enhance human security. They

maintained that media documentation and subsequent publication is the surest means to

convey information to the international community to influence policy direction on human

security. In Haiti, verbal and other forms of abuse against practitioners in public are on the rise

posing a question to public officials.

Despite the fact that Nigeria’s transition from military rule to democracy is over two decades,

violence targeting journalists still remains a recurring issue. On this basis, Ujene, I. G., &

Ojedokun, U. (2021)’s paper aims to examine patterns of violent attacks targeting journalists in

Lagos, Nigeria. The results showed that assault on journalists is a common phenomenon in the

city, with more cases usually recorded during the period of general elections. Three major

factors were identified by respondents as underlying violent attacks on journalists. Also, security

personnel and political thugs were mentioned as the major perpetrators of violent attacks on

journalists.
Reference:

Aguilar Jr, F. V., Mendoza, M. P., & Candelaria, A. L. K. (2014). Keeping the state at bay: The

killing of journalists in the Philippines, 1998-2012. Critical Asian Studies, 46(4), 649-677.

Bartman, J. M. (2018). Murder in Mexico: are journalists victims of general violence or targeted

political violence?. Democratization, 25(7), 1093-1113.

Ibrahim, A. M., Pate, U. A., & Usman, A. M. (2020). Silencing the Media and Chaining the

Watchdog: Threats to Journalist Safety During Elections in Nigeria. In Handbook of

Research on Combating Threats to Media Freedom and Journalist Safety (pp. 214-240).

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Landé, C. (1964). Leaders, Followers and Factions: The Structure of Philippine Politics.

Mitra, S., Høiby, M., & Garrido, M. (2021). Medium-specific threats for journalists: Examples

from Philippines, Afghanistan and Venezuela. Journalism Practice, 15(1), 80-98.

Neupane, D., & Zeng, L. (2014). Condition of Nepali journalists after the 2008 constituent

assembly election. Journal of International Communication, 20(1), 87-97.

Sarmiento, F. J. L. (2013). The Maguindanao Massacre: A Serious Challenge to Human

Security in the Philippines. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 19, 55-68.

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violence as a means to promote human security. Thinking outside the box in multilateral

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face. Journalism Studies, 18(1), 102-117.

Ujene, I. G., & Ojedokun, U. (2021). Patterns of violent attacks targeting journalists in Lagos,

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