Palace cites report Philippine media is 'extremely vibrant' despite 147th World Press Freedom ranking

Despite placing 147th out of 180 countries in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, Malacañang on Wednesday cited the global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders’ report that the media in the Philippines is “extremely vibrant” due to a number of reasons.

Acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar made the remark during a Palace briefing after the Philippines dropped nine spots in this year’s index from 138 last year. Notwithstanding, he said, the Philippines was not among the index’s red list and list of worst countries for press freedom.

“Although the Philippines ranked 147th in this year's index, Reporters Without Borders or RSF has acknowledged that the Philippine media are extremely vibrant,” he said.

“It should be pointed out that the Philippines is not included in its category in its so-called red list which RSF indicates ‘very bad’ press freedom situations. The Philippines is also not included in RSF’s world 10 worst countries for press freedom,” he added.

According to RSF, the situation in 28 countries is classified as “very bad,” while 12 countries, including Belarus and Russia, are on the index’s red list.

Meanwhile, among the world’s 10 worst countries for press freedom include Myanmar, China, Turkmenistan, Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea, RSF added.

In RSF’s country profile for the Philippines, it noted that the “Philippine media are extremely vibrant despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment, since 2016, of journalists and media outlets that are too critical.”

They added President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year presidency was “marked by countless verbal attacks coupled with judicial harassment targeting any media deemed overly critical of the government.”

The RSF also noted that the Philippines is one of the deadliest countries for journalists, and impunity for media killings "is almost total."

Andanar further said that the Presidential Task Force on Media Security will release a more comprehensive statement on the matter. — RSJ, GMA News