Palace belies Philippines has “fewer press freedom”

February 23, 2018

Malacanang denied on Friday that the Philippines is one of the countries in Asia Pacific with "worst offenders" of the press as reported by Transparency International.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, however, said the Duterte administration is taking seriously the low ranking of the Philippines on the TI's Corruption Perceptions Index 2017.

"We have to underscore that corruption is a problem that cannot be solved overnight; thus, we are taking the results of Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2017, which shows our 111th (out of 180) ranking, seriously," he said in a statement.

Roque said there was no truth to the TI report that the Philippines was one among those countries with fewer press freedom and high number of journalists killed.

"We have to point out that Transparency International factored in the protection of the press and non-governmental organizations in its ranking.  It particularly mentioned the Philippines as among countries which score high for corruption, have fewer press freedom, and higher number of journalist death.  Transparency International even cited that every week at least one journalist is killed in a country that is highly corrupt, which is not the case in the Philippines," he said.

"There is no truth that we have fewer press freedom," Roque added.

He noted that the media in the country are still able to broadcast and print or publish what they want, including "fake news."

Roque recalled that President Rodrigo Duterte even declared last year a Day of Protest to show that the Filipinos are free to air their grievances.

He also cited the creation of a Presidential Task Force on Media Security to ensure the protection of media practitioners.

"Per the record of the Task Force, all murder cases involving journalists during the Duterte administration have been solved.  In addition, public officials who threatened media workers have been 'red flagged' to show that we work without fear or favor," Roque said.

Roque reiterated Duterte's stern warning to government officials and employees that corruption would not be tolerated under his watch.

He also noted that several government officials, including Cabinet members, were fired once he heard even a whiff of corruption.

Roque said Duterte also issued Executive Order No. 43 creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and opened a citizens' complaint hotline 8888.

"Fighting corruption needs everyone’s cooperation.  The government cannot do it alone.  Citizens must be vigilant and report corruption," Roque said.

While the Philippines rank was stagnant at 111th in the TI survey, its score declined to 34 last year from 35 the previous year.

The TI report noted that the results of the 2017 CPI shows that corruption in many countries is still strong.

"Often, when individuals dare to challenge the status quo, they suffer the consequences. In some countries across the region, journalists, activists, opposition leaders and even staff of law enforcement or watchdog agencies are threatened, and in the worst cases, even murdered," the report said.

"Philippines, India and the Maldives are among the worst regional (Asia Pacific) offenders in this respect. These countries score high for corruption and have fewer press freedoms and higher numbers of journalist deaths," TI said.

Citing the Committee to Protect Journalists, TI said in the last six years, 15 journalists working on corruption stories in the three Asia Pacific countries, including the Philippines, were murdered. Celerina Monte/DMS