Renato Blanco

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr., shown here at a campaign rally in Quezon City, Philippines, on April 13, 2022, has not displayed overt antagonism toward the media since winning the presidency in May 2022. However, local journalists say he has not yet taken substantive actions to undo the damage wrought to press freedom under the Duterte administration. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality

At a waterfront courthouse in Tacloban City, a long-time hotbed of communist insurgency in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas island region, heavily armed guards were escorting jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to trial. The picturesque setting belied the harsh reality of the April 17 hearing. Cumpio could be put behind bars for life if found guilty…

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