Duterte admin task force touts protecting press freedom

Anjo Bagaoisan, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The outgoing Duterte administration leaves behind as part of its “legacy” steps protecting Filipino media workers, the director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said on Tuesday.“We were able to plant the seeds of change when it comes to safeguarding press freedom in this part of the world,” task force head Joel Egco said at the last presentation of the 2-day “Duterte Legacy” summit. One proof of this, Egco said, was the absence of monitored cases of killings or physical violence against media practitioners during the recently concluded 2022 polls.“I’m very happy to say that no journalist or broadcaster was harmed during the elections—a testament to the government’s continued vigilance in providing safe environment for media workers during, before, and after the elections. Thank you very much Pres. Duterte,” he said.This followed the creation of “media security vanguards” with the Philippine National Police, where police units and information officers have been activated to accept media-related complaints and assist them.Egco described this effort as a first in the world, which had also been noticed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for emulation in other countries.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/17/22/pnp-no-2022-poll-related-incident-involving-media'>PNP: No reported #Halalan2022-related incident involving media</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/spotlight/01/30/22/security-vanguards-launched-vs-media-threats'>Media security vanguards launched vs threats on journalists</a></li></ul>WORK ON MEDIA KILLINGS, HARASSMENTEgco said the task force also assisted or resolved more than 80 cases of harassment of media workers while on duty.“Maraming positive reviews sa atin, despite the fact na marami namang negative criticisms mula sa ating mga kababayan. Pero okay lang iyon, ‘di tayo nadidisttract sa mga negative, dahil tayo ay nakatutok lang sa trabaho,” he said. He also touted the 2019 court ruling convicting 28 people, including members of the Ampatuan clan, for the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, which killed 58 people including 34 journalists.This was part of 69 convictions for 52 cases of media killings put out during the past 6 years, he said. <blockquote class='twitter-tweet'>Egco adds majority or 25 out of 33 media killings that occurred under the Duterte administration were not work related, but said 27 cases have been filed on these incidents. <a href='https://t.co/peTZTGcBlg'>pic.twitter.com/peTZTGcBlg</a>— Anjo Bagaoisan (@anjo_bagaoisan) <a href='https://twitter.com/anjo_bagaoisan/status/1531539264151769088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw'>May 31, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src='https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' type='text/javascript'></script>In 2021, the Philippines ranked as the 7th most dangerous place in the world for journalists in the Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists.However, Egco said cases have already been filed in 27 out of 33 incidents of media workers’ killings that occurred under the Duterte administration.He added 14 suspects had been arrested in line with these cases, 6 others killed in operations, and 21 issued warrants.The task force said only 8 of the 33 killings were found to be connected to the media workers’ jobs.The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), meanwhile, counts 23 killings of press workers under Duterte, all work-related unless proven otherwise.PRESS FREEDOM ‘LEGACY’Egco cited Duterte’s declaration of August 30 as National Press Freedom Day by law last April as part of the administration’s efforts for the profession.Another Palace-backed legislation, the media and entertaining workers’ welfare bill, had passed both houses of Congress but failed to reach law in time for the elections.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/27/22/aug-30-declared-as-national-press-freedom-day'>Duterte OKs law declaring Aug. 30 as 'National Press Freedom Day'</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/22/21/bill-para-sa-proteksyon-ng-media-entertainment-workers-posibleng-ipasa-sa-enero'>Bill para sa proteksyon ng media, entertainment workers posibleng ipasa ng Senado sa Enero</a></li></ul>Egco echoed the call of journalists’ groups for the administration of president-elect Bongbong Marcos to continue the mandate of the task force.Duterte received criticism before the start of his term in 2016 for saying journalists were not exempt from being killed because they were corrupt.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/05/31/16/duterte-journalists-are-killed-for-being-corrupt'>Duterte: Journalists are killed for being corrupt</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/06/09/16/un-chief-slams-duterte-endorsement-of-killings'>UN chief slams Duterte 'endorsement' of killings</a></li></ul>As president, Duterte repeatedly threatened not to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN Corporation, whose free-to-air radio and TV broadcasts were shut down when the franchise expired in May 2020.A congressional committee later voted to reject the network’s franchise renewal in July.As a result, thousands of ABS-CBN workers were retrenched the month after.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/duterte-to-face-time-of-reckoning-for-abs-cbn-shutdown-journo-says'>Duterte to face 'time of reckoning' for ABS-CBN shutdown, journo says</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/22/politicians-responsible-for-abs-cbn-shutdown-draw-flak-on-2nd-anniversary'>Politicians responsible for ABS-CBN shutdown draw flak on 2nd anniversary</a></li></ul>While Egco reported they had been able to extend aid to media workers displaced by the closure of newspapers or stations with problems during the pandemic, the ABS-CBN shutdown was not named.Meanwhile, a number of journalists and media organizations had also been tagged as communists or supporters of communist groups by officials of another Duterte-created task force, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). <ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/08/21/chr-military-officers-red-tagging-of-journalist-a-possible-overreach-of-anti-terror-law'>CHR: Military officer's red tagging of journalist a possible 'overreach' of anti-terror law</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/19/22/ntf-elcacs-badoy-faces-2-more-complaints-from-ressa-nupl'>NTF-ELCAC's Badoy faces 2 more complaints from Ressa, NUPL</a></li></ul>

This followed the creation of “media security vanguards” with the Philippine National Police, where police units and information officers have been activated to accept media-related complaints and assist them.Egco described this effort as a first in the world, which had also been noticed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for emulation in other countries.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/17/22/pnp-no-2022-poll-related-incident-involving-media'>PNP: No reported #Halalan2022-related incident involving media</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/spotlight/01/30/22/security-vanguards-launched-vs-media-threats'>Media security vanguards launched vs threats on journalists</a></li></ul>WORK ON MEDIA KILLINGS, HARASSMENTEgco said the task force also assisted or resolved more than 80 cases of harassment of media workers while on duty.“Maraming positive reviews sa atin, despite the fact na marami namang negative criticisms mula sa ating mga kababayan. Pero okay lang iyon, ‘di tayo nadidisttract sa mga negative, dahil tayo ay nakatutok lang sa trabaho,” he said. He also touted the 2019 court ruling convicting 28 people, including members of the Ampatuan clan, for the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, which killed 58 people including 34 journalists.This was part of 69 convictions for 52 cases of media killings put out during the past 6 years, he said. <blockquote class='twitter-tweet'>Egco adds majority or 25 out of 33 media killings that occurred under the Duterte administration were not work related, but said 27 cases have been filed on these incidents. <a href='https://t.co/peTZTGcBlg'>pic.twitter.com/peTZTGcBlg</a>— Anjo Bagaoisan (@anjo_bagaoisan) <a href='https://twitter.com/anjo_bagaoisan/status/1531539264151769088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw'>May 31, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src='https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' type='text/javascript'></script>In 2021, the Philippines ranked as the 7th most dangerous place in the world for journalists in the Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists.However, Egco said cases have already been filed in 27 out of 33 incidents of media workers’ killings that occurred under the Duterte administration.He added 14 suspects had been arrested in line with these cases, 6 others killed in operations, and 21 issued warrants.The task force said only 8 of the 33 killings were found to be connected to the media workers’ jobs.The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), meanwhile, counts 23 killings of press workers under Duterte, all work-related unless proven otherwise.PRESS FREEDOM ‘LEGACY’Egco cited Duterte’s declaration of August 30 as National Press Freedom Day by law last April as part of the administration’s efforts for the profession.Another Palace-backed legislation, the media and entertaining workers’ welfare bill, had passed both houses of Congress but failed to reach law in time for the elections.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/27/22/aug-30-declared-as-national-press-freedom-day'>Duterte OKs law declaring Aug. 30 as 'National Press Freedom Day'</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/22/21/bill-para-sa-proteksyon-ng-media-entertainment-workers-posibleng-ipasa-sa-enero'>Bill para sa proteksyon ng media, entertainment workers posibleng ipasa ng Senado sa Enero</a></li></ul>Egco echoed the call of journalists’ groups for the administration of president-elect Bongbong Marcos to continue the mandate of the task force.Duterte received criticism before the start of his term in 2016 for saying journalists were not exempt from being killed because they were corrupt.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/05/31/16/duterte-journalists-are-killed-for-being-corrupt'>Duterte: Journalists are killed for being corrupt</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/06/09/16/un-chief-slams-duterte-endorsement-of-killings'>UN chief slams Duterte 'endorsement' of killings</a></li></ul>As president, Duterte repeatedly threatened not to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN Corporation, whose free-to-air radio and TV broadcasts were shut down when the franchise expired in May 2020.A congressional committee later voted to reject the network’s franchise renewal in July.As a result, thousands of ABS-CBN workers were retrenched the month after.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/duterte-to-face-time-of-reckoning-for-abs-cbn-shutdown-journo-says'>Duterte to face 'time of reckoning' for ABS-CBN shutdown, journo says</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/22/politicians-responsible-for-abs-cbn-shutdown-draw-flak-on-2nd-anniversary'>Politicians responsible for ABS-CBN shutdown draw flak on 2nd anniversary</a></li></ul>While Egco reported they had been able to extend aid to media workers displaced by the closure of newspapers or stations with problems during the pandemic, the ABS-CBN shutdown was not named.Meanwhile, a number of journalists and media organizations had also been tagged as communists or supporters of communist groups by officials of another Duterte-created task force, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). <ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/08/21/chr-military-officers-red-tagging-of-journalist-a-possible-overreach-of-anti-terror-law'>CHR: Military officer's red tagging of journalist a possible 'overreach' of anti-terror law</a></li>	<li><a href='https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/19/22/ntf-elcacs-badoy-faces-2-more-complaints-from-ressa-nupl'>NTF-ELCAC's Badoy faces 2 more complaints from Ressa, NUPL</a></li></ul>

One proof of this, Egco said, was the absence of monitored cases of killings or physical violence against media practitioners during the recently concluded 2022 polls.“I’m very happy to say that no journalist or broadcaster was harmed during the elections—a testament to the government’s continued vigilance in providing safe environment for media workers during, before, and after the elections. Thank you very much Pres. Duterte,” he said.

MANILA - The outgoing Duterte administration leaves behind as part of its “legacy” steps protecting Filipino media workers, the director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said on Tuesday.“We were able to plant the seeds of change when it comes to safeguarding press freedom in this part of the world,” task force head Joel Egco said at the last presentation of the 2-day “Duterte Legacy” summit.

In 2021, the Philippines ranked as the 7th most dangerous place in the world for journalists, according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report.

Duterte admin task force touts protecting press freedom | ABS-CBN News

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Duterte admin task force touts protecting press freedom

Duterte admin task force touts protecting press freedom