Statements Archives - Page 3 of 11 - CMFR

[Myanmar] SEAPA statement on the conviction and 7-year sentence of Reuters journalists

THE SOUTHEAST Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) denounces in the strongest possible terms the conviction handed down today by a Myanmar court to Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, sentencing them to a seven-year jail term. (See, Two journalists arrested for reporting the Rakhine State crisis, face 14-year jail term under the Official...

The Sotto TakeDown “Request”: A Press Freedom Issue

THE FUNDAMENTAL mandate of a free press is to provide fair, accurate and relevant information in furtherance of the right of the people to know, so that they can make intelligent decisions about their lives, their government, and the people on whom they have delegated their powers as...

“Fact-check” Report Misinformed, Failed to get Facts, Context of Killing of 9 Journalists in 22 Months of Duterte

A CONSOLIDATED report on the state of press freedom in the country was produced and launched on May 3, 2018, World Press Freedom Day, by four media organizations — Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility (CMFR), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism...

Speak Truth to Power, Keep Power in Check

RODRIGO R. Duterte’s presidency has altered and controlled the public discourse so radically in its favor in ways rude and bold. One tragic result: it has restricted and narrowed the celebrated freedom of the Philippine press and the people’s cherished right to know. In his first 22 months in...

Once Again, Stand for Media Freedom

THE CENTER for Media Freedom & Responsibility deplores as an infringement on press freedom the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte barring online news site Rappler’s reporter Pia Ranada and its editor and CEO Maria Ressa from covering the Office of the President. The message of that directive, the...

For Freedom’s Sake: Stand with Rappler

Statement of the Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility NEWS MEDIA organization Rappler is challenging in the courts the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) revocation of its Certificate of Incorporation. But the SEC decision should be sounding the alarm not only among journalists but for all Filipinos who...

A Step Backward in the Campaign to End Impunity

AS THE world observes International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2, the press community in the Philippines carves out a more extended period to recall the shame and scandal of the violence against journalists in the country. On November 23, the 8th anniversary...

CMFR’s Statement on the President’s Attack Against the Media: The Cheapest Form of Harassment and Intimidation

SPEAKING TO appointed government officials in local government on March 30, President Duterte once again assailed the press, singling out two leading news organizations, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN. His rant, however, was an attack against the institution and the country’s community of journalists. Being itself in the media,...

Year Seven After the Massacre: Still No Justice on Sixth Year of Trial

THE SEVENTH anniversary of the massacre of 58 civilians, including 32 journalists, in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, draws our community once again to gather together, move through the motions of protest, raise voices to plea for justice for the victims and their surviving families. Some of the orphaned children...

Pooled Editorial: The Prez and The Press

REGRETTABLY, the conversation between President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and the news media has turned sharp and shrill. All but lost in the noise is the two parties’ common duty in law and tradition to serve and to inform the Filipino people on issues, events and policies that affect their...