Justice Delayed, Justice Denied
by The Editorial Board
Forgetting is not an option. On this gruesome day 14 years ago, the country lost 58 souls in broad daylight, 32 of whom were journalists and media workers. They were on their way to perform their sworn duty of serving the public, yet what they received were bullets and an inhumane and disrespectful burial as they were thrown in what seemed like an endless pit made by the forces of the Ampatuan family.
More than a decade later, justice remains elusive and bleak. The failure of the Philippine government to provide effective remedies and reparations to the victims’ kin persists. Partial victory is gained with 57 remains found; however, until now, the body of journalist Reynaldo Momay has not been returned to his family. To make it worse, the assailants live their lives freely without a sliver of repentance.
Then again, we are left to think about what the root cause of this impunity is. The violence perpetrated against journalists is not just a one-time problem; rather, it is a result of structural factors, particularly the continued access to power and wealth of political families who act ruthlessly to defend their personal interests. As we see, the Maguindanao massacre was a politically motivated attack too.
Silencing and state aggression against critical media and journalism continue. Tampering the freedom of journalism has become the way out of similar self-serving administrations from the masses, knowing the anomalies made against them. In the present administration, critical media became the subject of state aggression and painted an image of being ‘biased’, while the government favored social media influencers who spread fake news and propaganda.
Violence Against the Press
Since Marcos Sr.’s downfall, a total of 199 journalists have been killed, with Macapagal-Arroyo’s term accounting for 103 of the deaths. Nevertheless, the preceding Duterte regime, which also maneuvered the passage of the controversial Anti-Terror Law, saw 23 lives perish. All of the past heads of administration were all products of political families.
Now that the country suffers under the regime of the namesake son of the ousted dictator, Marcos Jr., four media practitioners have already been gunned down — the latest being broadcaster Juan Jumalon, who was killed live on-air. The government also continues to point fingers at each other regarding the case of Percy Lapid, a known critic of both the Duterte and Marcos regimes.
Members of the press also continue to receive intimidation from numerous cases of red-tagging, death threats, and trumped-up charges. One large power play display happened when the media giant ABS-CBN lost its franchise over seemingly small political advertisement matters that became a message, causing a chilling effect for all media practitioners.
There is no question why the Philippines is ranked eighth as the world’s most dangerous place for journalists this year.
Disempowering the Press
While journalists and critical media are subject to aggression, influencers’ unregulated opinions are sensationalized in social media. This wide and fast spread of disinformation has become a tool of the fascist regime to veer the public away from the truth and become an unprecedented barrier that disempowers journalists who fact-check and create news from critical perspectives.
As the spaces for struggle become more crowded, the challenge to mass media practitioners to remain bearers of the truth also intensifies. Together with the broad masses, we will refuse to forget the fate of our comrades. Until justice is rightfully served, until the guilty and the administrations that foster the culture of violence are held accountable, we shall refuse to forget their crimes. We shall refuse to forget because it is only through remembering that we can show our stronghold in ensuring that the perpetrators shall soon be punished under the law.
Leaving this case unresolved proves how decadent all the past regimes are. But enough is enough. It is high time that we end impunity for crimes against journalists. Every time the sun goes down on November 23rd, let us all remember to shine a light on the brave souls we lost and continue to defend those who continue to do their duty of serving the people through the truthful press.
