Press freedom in Aquino’s first year: Unfulfilled promises and fading hopes
Electoral fraud vs Massacre
But fears that Zaldy may escape responsibility for his alleged involvement in the Massacre were not dispelled by the Malacañang and justice department statements. The fear is that Zaldy will use his knowledge of the alleged 2004 and 2007 electoral fraud in Maguindanao and other ARMM provinces to strike a deal with Aquino.
Aquino and his government are currently focused on holding former President and now 2nd district Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to account for her alleged corruption and manipulation of the 2004 and 2007 elections. In its desire to get the Arroyos, the Aquino administration might agree to get Zaldy off the hook in the Ampatuan Massacre in exchanged for his being a witness against the Arroyos.
This has led to fears that Zaldy might yet land a spot in the DOJ’s WPP. As of this writing, the Aquino government was still assessing what it will do with Zaldy’s claims that Arroyo cheated in the 2004 and 2007 elections.
Fewer killings, but more harassments
Meanwhile, Malacañang’s claim that there were fewer killings during Aquino’s first year in power may be true. But the decrease in the number of killings, has been negated by the the number of reported threats against journalists and media workers. From July 2010 to July 2011, there were at least 15 recorded incidents of threats against journalists and media organizations.
Most of the reported threats occurred in the provinces, and involved local politicians or local powerful personalities. Two of the incidents involved the government-run radio station dzRK-Radyo ng Bayan (the People’s Radio) based in Kalinga province.
Last May 24, unidentified men threw four explosives into the dzRK radio compound. The attack was allegedly connected to criticisms against the resumption of jueteng (an illegal numbers game) in Kalinga province.
Two weeks later, Kalinga province Gov. Jocel Baac and his men barged into the dzRK radio booth and mauled anchor Jerome Tabanganay who was discussing how an unnamed local government official had reprimanded the radio’s station manager for allegedly letting other news agencies report the May 24 “bombing” attack. Tabanganay said Baac did not want to treat the May 24 incident as a bomb attack but rather as an “attempted case of arson.” Tabanganay and dzRK filed a complaint against Baac for grave threats and physical injury.
The fight for access to information
Hopes that a freedom of information law would pass during the Aquino administration are fading.
During his campaign, and in the first months of his administration, Aquino and his officials committed to passing an access to information law. More than a year has passed but the freedom of information (FOI) bill has not moved forward. Months after his inauguration, advocates led by the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition waited for the FOI bill to land in the list of Aquino’s priority bills. However, it never happened. Neither did the Aug. 16 Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council meeting include the FOI bill.
Aquino, his communication group say, believes that the advocates’ version has provisions disadvantageous to the government and subject to abuse. The president ordered the creation of a committee to review and revise the bill based on consultations with government agencies and advocates.
In a forum by CMFR, Communications Usec. Manuel Quezon III presented the most recent Palace version, which its most salient feature was limiting rather than broadening citizen right to access to information.
Just his first year
All this amount to one thing: there has been no substantial improvement in the state of press freedom during the first year of Aquino. The Philippines continues to be among those countries with dangerous environments for the press and with the least number of successful prosecutions of the killers of journalists, and among the countries with no specific, genuine law on access to information.
The Aquino government has called on its critics to consider that it is only in its first year in power. If a year is not enough for the Aquino administration to get the hang of the bureaucracy (despite the fact that many of them were already in government before June 30, 2010), those who have placed their trust and hope on his “matuwid na daan (righteous path)” can’t be blamed for expecting positive changes in the state of press freedom and free expression in its second year, and a government not only focused on holding to account the former administration, but also able to prioritize the needs of its citizens.
[…] Press freedom in Aquino’s first year: Unfulfilled promises and fading hopes by Melanie Pinlac […]