Press Freedom Protection Archives | Page 68 of 76

Journalists seek court protection from government

CMFR/Philippines—Eleven journalists and media technicians from the Philippines’ biggest television network arrested for covering an incident involving about 20 soldiers in the Manila Peninsula Hotel last November have asked the Philippine Supreme Court to declare their arrest illegal and to protect them and other journalists from future government harassment....

Two suspects in journalist’s killing six years ago arraigned

CMFR/Philippines—Two suspects in the killing of a broadcast journalist were arraigned on 10 January 2008, more than half a decade after the murder. Rolando Ureta, then 30, was killed on his way home onboard his motorcycle in Lezo, Aklan after his evening news broadcast on 3 January 2001 when...

Class suit against Arroyo husband to continue

CMFR/Philippines—A motion, the second filed by Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to dismiss the class action suit filed against him by 40 journalists and three media organizations in response to his numerous libel suits has been denied by a Philippine court. The journalists filed...

Media can be held liable for disobeying government, justice secretary warns

CMFR/Philippines—The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) has condemned an advisory issued by the secretary of justice warning chief media networks and press groups that they risk “criminal liabilities” if they disobey government orders “during emergencies.” The advisory warned media executives that their “networks or organizations may...

Nograles, the press freedom advocate?

A staunch Arroyo ally at the House of Representatives has filed a bill proposing for the abolition of the penalty of imprisonment for libel but increasing the fines for the offense. According to Rep. Prospero Nograles (Lakas, 1st Dist., Davao City), author of House Bill 2802 , the proposed...

PRESS ADVISORY

FOR: News and current affairs head/editor FROM: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility/ Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists SUBJECT: Hearing on the murder against SPO4 Apolonio Medrano and Basilio Yadao for the 2004 killing of Ilocos broadcast journalist Roger Mariano DATES: 3, 10 and 18 October 2007 (8:30 a.m.)...

Back to the Past: A timeline of press freedom

A timeline of press freedom Back to the Past By Jose Bimbo F. Santos and Melanie Y. Pinlac IN TODAY’S fast-moving world, 35 years can be a very short time. It was not long ago that Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and put a stop to freedom of the...

A Summit on ‘Salvagings’ and Abductions

A pro-active Supreme Court leads a conference on extrajudicial killings A Summit on ‘Salvagings’ and Abductions By Jose Bimbo F. Santos NO MORE than 10 percent of the 70 cases of journalists killed in the line of duty since 1986 have resulted in a conviction. Out of the 33...

CMFR Philippines Alert: Reporters receives death threat after exposing election anomalies

A television and a radio reporter for the ABS-CBN network received death threats in Lanao del Norte, a province located in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), after reporting election irregularities in the province. ARMM is in Mindanao, the second largest and southernmost island of the Philippines. ABS-CBN...

A statement from journalists who have filed a class suit against the president’s husband, Mike Arroyo

In view of Jose Miguel Arroyo’s announcement that he intends to withdraw all the libel suits he has brought against journalists (46 in all), the question is raised whether we might respond by withdrawing our own class suit against him. As it happens, this is not a case of...