Press Freedom Protection Archives | Page 16 of 76

Radio Anchor Mauled in Negros Occidental

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – Two men injured a local radio anchor in Talisay, Negros Occidental on 16 February 2018. On February 27, the victim filed a complaint against one of the suspects with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Negros Occidental is 783 kilometers south of Manila. It was around...

Rappler Banned from Covering President Duterte

CMFR/Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has barred online news site Rappler and its Malacañang Palace (the Philippine president’s office and residence) reporter from covering him, a Palace official said on February 20. According to a Rappler report, Malacañang’s Internal House Affairs Office (IHAO) head Jhopee Avanceña sent reporter Pia...

Police Surveys Reporters as part of PNP Policy

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – Members of the press experienced surveillance as a part of a Philippine National Police policy for media accreditation to the PNP Press Corps. On January 24, The Manila Times reporter Roy Narra received a phone call from a man who was allegedly part of the PNP but...

Kodao Productions Website Attacked

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – Kodao Productions, an alternative news outlet that seeks “to serve marginalized sectors of society,” reported a cyber-attack on its website on Friday, 2 February 2018. Kodao first reported via Facebook that their site has been down since midnight of Friday due to a “code injection attack”which prevented their web technicians...

NBI Subpoenas Rappler CEO, Former Reporter Re Cyber Libel Complaint

CMFR/PHILIPPINES — Scarcely a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked online news site Rappler’s incorporation papers, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) subpoenaed CEO Maria Ressa and a former reporter last January 18 in connection with an online libel complaint filed by a businessman. The...

SEC Revokes Rappler’s Incorporation Paper Months after Duterte’s Threat of Investigation

CMFR/PHILIPPINES — Months after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to investigate Rappler’s ownership, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked the incorporation paper of the online news organization for allegedly violating the Constitution and the Anti-Dummy Law. The SEC order signed 11 January 2018 said that Rappler violated the...

Davao Radio Broadcaster Threatened, Accused of Being Pro-Communist

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A Davao City-based radio broadcaster received text messages that threatened her life. She reported that she was “accused of being pro-communist,” shortly after she criticized the recent pre-debut photo shoot of President Duterte’s granddaughter, Isabelle Duterte, in Malacanang. Kathyrine “Kath” Cortez of Radyo ni Juan Network-Davao...

Another Journalist Receives Death Threat

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A journalist covering the judiciary for a national broadsheet received a death threat via SMS from an unknown source on 1 December 2017. The Manila Times reporter Jomar Canlas reported receiving a two identical text messages threatening to kill him. The message read: “P***** mo jomar...

Tabloid Columnist Accuses PTFoMS Director of Sending Death Threats; Task Force Director Denies Allegation

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A tabloid columnist reported receiving death threats allegedly from the executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) after his articles criticizing the performance of the task force appeared in his paper. The executive director denied the accusation. Mat Vicencio, a columnist for...

LIBEL WATCH: Journalist Held by Police, Another Charged, One Case Dismissed

CMFR/Philippines – Several journalists faced libel challenges in November. One broadcaster accused of libel was held by the police, while a libel complaint was filed against another, an online reporter. A libel charge against the executives of a media organization was dismissed. Libel is still a criminal offense...