with the TomasinoWeb, Tug-ani and The LaSallian
Contrary to the status quo, the people, not the government, hold the power in a democracy. To wield this power and attain what is rightfully theirs, the public’s access to information should be a given—no bureaucratic red tape, no threats of death or harm to persons.
A genuinely free and independent press is vital in protecting the public’s right and capacity to make decisions regarding their own welfare; a democratic society is not itself without it. And so, press freedom does not belong merely to the people of the press, but to each and every member of the public the profession serves.
More often than not, however, the destruction of this basic freedom is the first step of despots and dictators bent on seizing political power—very much like the case with Rappler, libel suits and the continuing call for the criminalization of libel, defunding of student publications, and the harassment and murder of journalists.
The Duterte administration does not stop there. It employs equally effective means to obscure the truth and discredit the very role of journalism in consolidating its propagandists, bloggers, and purveyors of fake news to constantly bombard the people’s mindsets with outright distrust in the field of journalism.
Therefore, that the government, sworn to serve the public that voted it to power, is waging a war against press freedom is a strong indication of the extremely urgent need to rise up and engage in a larger fight against dictatorship.
The media under attack today is that which is critical of the powerful, that which seeks to counter misinformation, lies and myth. In the martial law years, it was the critical disposition of the alternative press that constantly fed information to the public, no matter how subtle or bold the means. It was this sense of criticality that ousted the dictatorship and brought back democracy in our land.
It is now, more than ever, that the press must consciously, actively be on the side of truth. Today’s press must regain its role—never simply a passive, “neutral” reporter of the changing history, but a critical watchdog of the society, of the powers that be.
On the 32nd anniversary of the historic EDSA revolution, it would all serve us well to remember that power still very much remains in the people, and no one can stand in their way anytime they decide to forcefully take back what is owed to them.
The Filipino people cannot afford to lose democracy again. All dissent is in danger. We need to stand together to protect press freedom.
#DefendPressFreedom
