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Martial Law Statement

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The battle for press freedom has been a continuous one for journalists in the Philippines.

Throughout history, the media has been exposed to relentless attacks as it strives to act on its role of informing the public, serving as a watchdog against injustice, and holding to account the powers that be.

In a society where freedom of the press is increasingly challenged, it is only critical for us to defend it to attain a free press that brings social, economic and judicial injustices to light.

To defend the Philippine press is to defend our rights, liberties, and democracy itself.

On the evening of September 23, 1972, the late President Ferdinand Marcos appeared on national television to formally announce the declaration of Martial Law.

In his pursuit of power, Marcos was fully aware of the media’s impact on society, so he exerted tremendous effort to have authority over it. After signing Proclamation No. 1081, he released Letter of Instruction No. 1 which ordered the “takeover and control” of all forms of communications such as newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television facilities.

To justify this course of action, the Letter of Instruction cited the involvement of certain media outlets in the promotion of “agitational propaganda campaign, conspiratorial activities, and illegal ends” of the communist movement. Information disseminated to the public was subjected to approval by a government body, and those who refused to comply or were deemed to have published subversive materials were arrested and denied due process.

By shutting down dissenting voices and allowing the operation of a state-owned television network, which is still present today, Marcos suppressed criticism and controlled information disseminated to the people. The Philippines moved further away from the will of the people and closer towards the will of the few.

Fast forward to today, the Philippine press is once again being pressured into following the government’s lead. Since the last Martial Law commemoration in 2018, media practitioners and organizations have been bullied through lawsuits, harassed through red-tagging and cyber attacks, and silenced through violence.

The Duterte administration has twisted its interpretation of the law for the sake of silencing its critics. The Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Rappler’s chief executive officer Maria Ressa, twice, over cyber libel and anti-foreign media ownership charges.

Alternative media websites such as Bulatlat were overloaded with messages and data to the point of shutdown. Cagayan de Oro journalists Mindanao Gold Star Daily associate editor Leonardo Vicente “Cong” Corrales and MindaNews journalist Froilan Gallardo were called communists and criminals through flyers.

Eduardo “Ed” Dizon, a radio journalist in Kidapawan, was literally silenced to death for releasing exposés “against unscrupulous individuals and organizations involved in illegal undertakings”. A printing house of tabloid Abante Tonite was razed to the ground so it could not reach people through ink and paper.

These attacks on the press, among many others, happened within a span of only one year.

Once again, we are at a point where the pillars of democracy are slowly collapsing.

If we citizens continue to let the media be harassed and silenced, who would be left to expose wrongdoings in our democracy and assert our human rights? How would we be able to freely act upon significant political, social and economic issues?

In the 47th year of commemorating Martial Law, the UP Journalism Club calls on the Filipino people to stay vigilant and watchful over the looming erosion of democracy. With history on the verge of repeating itself, it is important, more than ever, that we work together to further press freedom, for a free and independent press asserts the rights of a free and independent people.

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ERRATUM: An earlier version infographic erroneously said the Bulatlat DDoS attacks were carried out in December 2019, rather than in 2018. This post has been updated.

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