Philippines / Asia

CPJ’s 2018 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free By Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Impunity is entrenched in 14 nations, according to CPJ’s 2018 Global Impunity Index, which ranks states with the worst records of prosecuting the killers of journalists.

Bangkok, August 1, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the detention of five Filipino journalists and the attack on at least one reporter by police and private security guards in Bulacan province’s Meycauayan City and called for an independent investigation that brings the perpetrators to justice.

Bangkok, July 23, 2018–A Filipino radio reporter was shot multiple times and died from his injuries on July 20 in the town of Daraga, in the country’s central Albay province, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing and called on Philippine authorities to swiftly identify and bring the perpetrators…

Pia Randa is in Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s crosshairs. At presidential press conferences, Duterte has repeatedly singled out the reporter by name and referred to Rappler, the news site where she works, as “fake news” and her reporting as “corrupt” and “biased” against his administration.

New York, June 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of Manuel Lacsamana, a contributor to the local monthly The Media Messenger and chairperson of the Central Luzon Media Association press group, and called on authorities in the Philippines to identify the killers and swiftly bring them to justice.

Bangkok, June 7, 2018–A Filipino journalist was shot and killed today in Panabo City, in the southern province of Davao del Norte, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing and called on authorities to swiftly identify and bring to justice the assailant.

Bangkok, May 2, 2018–A Filipino journalist died today of injuries sustained in a shooting attack on April 30 in Dumaguete City in the island nation’s central region, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the shooting and called on authorities to identify those responsible and swiftly bring them to justice.

On January 15, the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that online news group Rappler had violated laws barring foreign ownership and control of local media, and moved to revoke its registration.

Bangkok, February 21, 2018 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Philippine government’s decision to ban the news website Rappler from covering official presidential events, and calls for an immediate end to all government harassment of the independent online publication.

Bangkok, January 16, 2018–The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission’s order yesterday to revoke the registration of news website Rappler represents a clear and immediate danger to press freedom in the Philippines, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.