‘Improving our standings makes good global PR. But it also makes for good democracy.’
IT is World Press Freedom Day on Saturday. While we enjoy relatively more liberties these days, we still have room for improvement.
Press freedom falls under the greater type of freedom — the freedom of expression. That is to be able to express oneself without unnecessary restrictions and punishment. The freedom of the press became a popular concept when printing allowed for the rapid and wide distribution of the written word. Whereas manuscripts took much, much time to produce and reproduce, the printing press increased that capability in, using McLuhan’s words, “scale, pace and pattern.” These days when things digital have practically relegated the press to the backseat, we use the word figuratively (just like cc for carbon copy).
Operationally, press freedom refers to freedom from prior restraint and from subsequent punishment for publication made in good faith. That means no censorship, no registration. During the early days of martial law in 1972, uniformed officers reportedly sat in some newsrooms alongside the editors. Censorship and editing are related creatures. They both involve altering of text. But the location of the censor and editor is key. The censor is an outsider while the editor is a member of the staff.
Then one council after another — the Mass Media Council of 1972, the Media Advisory Council of 1973, and the Philippine Council for Print Media of 1974 — took turns in requiring publications to register.
Subsequent punishment is like the jump from the frying pan to the fire, a trap. Of what good is no censorship when each publication, especially when done without malice, is subject to penalty, whether legal, physical or any other form.
Today most of those restrictions are gone. Notwithstanding, the Philippine press is far from free, not even being “Asia’s freest,” as we once thought we were. The latest press freedom index, by Reporters Without Borders, gives us a score of 43.36, placing us 134th out of 180 countries. The top three countries on its book are Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and the bottom three are Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan.
The freest in Asia is actually Timor Leste, at No. 20. Note that it was 10th the year before. Korea and Japan are 62nd and 70th, respectively. In Southeast Asia, Thailand (87), Malaysia (107), Indonesia (111) and Singapore (126) rank better than us.
What could improve our standings?
* Decriminalize libel and cyberlibel. Libel is punishable by prisión correccional, cyberlibel by a higher degree, prisión mayor. There are at least seven decriminalization bills pending in both chambers of the 19th Congress, which has recessed for next month’s election. We will have to wait till the next, the 20th, Congress opens.
Press freedom advocates should encourage their elected lawmakers to pursue decriminalization bills, and actively support these bills until they are finally enacted. I predict a dramatic rise in our press-freedom ranking.
* Mediate the civil aspect of defamation cases. Prosecutors in the NCR are now mandated to mediate the civil aspect of libel and cyberlibel.
What about the other regions? There are active media-citizen councils in Agusan del Sur, Aklan, Batangas, Central Luzon, the Cordilleras, Cotabato, Davao, Iloilo, Region 8 and the Surigao provinces. All of them have representatives who received the same training from the Department of Justice’s Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Perhaps the Department of Justice can deputize these councils.
(There are upcoming councils in Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, Tuguegarao and Isabela.)
* Stop the harassment of journalists. We see less red-tagging nowadays. But we’d like to see the cases of Frenchy Mae Cumpion, who was a 21-year-old reporter when she was arrested five years ago, tried speedily.
* Investigate and prosecute violence, especially murder, against journalists.
Improving our standings makes good global PR. But it also makes for good democracy.
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Gary Mariano taught full time for 35 years at De La Salle University where he once chaired the Department of Communication. A former chair of the Philippine Press Council, he was also a member of the CHED Technical Committee for Journalism. In retirement, he helps promote local media-citizen councils, teaches part time, and serves at Our Lady of Beautiful Love parish.
