Palace lauds media for role in nation building, vows to protect press freedom

Malacañang on Thursday lauded the role of the media as a partner of government in nation building and vowed to protect press freedom in the country. “This is one of the freest in Asia and we have not curtailed and we do not intend to curtail press freedom in the country,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during the rites of the observance of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3. “In fact you are... the press is a necessary partner in nation building so it is something we will encourage, it is something that we would like to ensure and enhance...," he added. Lacierda also assured that the Aquino administration will not tolerate extralegal killings, especially attacks on journalists. “With respect to safety, I can assure you that we will not tolerate extralegal killings especially on journalists. Every time we hear an attempt on the the life a media personnel, we immediately inform the PNP (Philippine National Police),” he said. Earlier this year, the Philippines was tagged  by New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as the second deadliest place on earth for journalists, with at least 72 killed since 1992. On the other hand, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), said a total of 150 Filipino journalists have been killed since democracy was won back in 1986. NUJP chairman Nestor Burgos claimed that out of these cases, only 10 have been resolved. But Freedom of the Press Report 2012, a Washington-based advocacy organization Freedom House ranked the Philippines the highest in press freedom among its neighbors in Southeast Asia this year, with a rating of 42, representing a four-point increase from last year’s rating of 46. The Freedom House cited the reduction in violence against journalists, attempts by government to address impunity, and expanded diversity of media ownership as the reasons for our country’s gains. The Freedom House also reported that the global ranking of the Philippines improved by five notches – from 93rd in 2011 to 88th this year. "The Philippines has been highlighted as one of “several key countries” where positive changes in press freedom have been seen," the report said. It said, the ratings are based on assessments of the legal, political, and economic environments for media in each country, with a scale representing 0 as “most free” to 100 as “least free.” Lacierda welcomed the report saying the improved rankings of the Philippines represents a recognition of the government’s initiatives to strengthen press freedom. "With a country rating of 42, we acknowledge that more needs to be done to further improve the country’s rating which is still considered “partly free,” he further said. Meanwhile, President Benigno Aquino III, in a speech before the Philippine Press Institute last week, complained about the "negative stories" being published and urged the media to be more balanced and more positive in reporting. — LBG, GMA News