Philippines / Asia

New York, December 10, 2025一With more than three weeks still to go to the end of the year, the number of journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025 already equals 2024’s record figures, data gathered by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows. Led by Israel’s attacks on journalists in Gaza, Iran, and Yemen, the…

December 8, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists has written to heads of government across Asia ahead of International Human Rights Day on December 10, urging them to immediately free reporters imprisoned for their work. As of December 1, Asia holds at least 106 journalists behind bars, with China (50), Myanmar (27), and Vietnam (16) the…

New York, November 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partners welcomed a Philippine court’s decision to quash the murder charges against community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and called on authorities to drop all remaining charges against her. The 26-year-old journalist has been held in detention for nearly six years since her arrest in February 2020 on charges of…

Editor’s note: On October 21, Noel Bellen Samar died after surgery for gunshot wounds. The headline and contents of this alert have been updated to reflect his killing. Bangkok, October 20, 2025—Philippine authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of journalist Noel Bellen Samar, identify and arrest those responsible, and ensure…

New York, September 24, 2025—More than 250 journalists and representatives from media groups around the world on Wednesday called for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take “decisive action” and immediately release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, in a letter coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition. The 26-year-old journalist has…

New York, August 29, 2025–Ahead of National Press Freedom Day in the Philippines on August 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists and partners have called on the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and his administration to immediately release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio as her trial nears its conclusion.  The 26-year-old journalist has been held in prison for more than…

August 5, 2025—Press freedom organizations Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcome the corruption conviction of former Palawan governor Joel T. Reyes – the alleged mastermind behind the 2011 murder of journalist Gerry Ortega – handed down last week by the Sandiganbayan, the Philippines’ anti-graft court in Quezon City.  Reyes…

Bangkok, July 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Philippine authorities to launch a swift and credible investigation into Monday’s killing of Radio WOW FM journalist Erwin Labitad Segovia, who was shot by unidentified assailants while riding his motorcycle home after his morning broadcast. Segovia was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in…

Geneva, June 27, 2025—A handwritten letter by journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained in the Philippines for more than five years without a conviction, was read out at the United Nations headquarters by U.N. special envoy Irene Khan, who called the 26-year-old’s prolonged detention “a travesty of justice.” It was the first time…

Manila, June 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations have completed a joint mission to the Philippines, a first-of-its-kind effort supported by the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), a grouping of 51 member states committed to defending press freedom worldwide. During the June 16-20 mission, CPJ, Reporters Without Borders, and Free Press Unlimited took…