PTFoMS Executive Director Joel M. Sy Egco (File photo) MANILA - As the frontline government agency dedicated to protect media workers, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) through its Executive Director, Undersecretary Joel M. Sy Egco, thanked the men and women of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for their invaluable contribution to the peaceful national and local elections and for ensuring the safety of journalists. "I am very happy to say that no journalist or broadcaster was harmed during the elections, a testament to the government's continued vigilance in providing a safe environment for media workers through the task force," Egco said in a news release on Wednesday. "I am very grateful for the tireless efforts of the PNP, especially the Media Security Vanguards (MSV) headed by PBGen Roderick Augustus Alba, chief of the PNP Public Information Office, for their proactive approach in protecting our media workers during this crucial time for P
By: Atty. Perry Solis Press freedom is alive and well in the Philippines despite the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) release of its annual World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) putting the country in an unenviable position of no. 147 under what it called a new methodology, down from 138 last year. According to RSF's website, the low ranking of the country was due to many factors, foremost of which is media killings, especially the Ampatuan Massacre that happened more than a decade ago in 2009. As presented by RSF, it would be easy to assume that countries with a higher ranking would have a "freer" press than those with low rankings but that is not the case. Journalists should ask: Do citizens in African countries such as Namibia (18), South Africa (35), or Ivory Coast (37) enjoy greater press freedom than those from countries below it in ranking, such as let's say, citizens of the United States, which is currently at no. 42 in RSF's index? Journalists should wonder how
(PNA file photo) MANILA-Despite the new methodology used in this year's World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released on May 4, 2022, the Philippine press remains freer and "extremely vibrant" under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte compared to the previous administrations of former Presidents Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino Jr. and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. "Even with the new method used by the Paris-based RSF in determining each nation's rankings in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, the present administration still fared way better than past administrations, a testament to President Rodrigo Duterte's unwavering commitment to media freedom," Undersecretary Joel M. Sy Egco, Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), said in a statement. Once again, Egco said that RSF's index proves beyond doubt the media environment in the country has greatly improved after President Duterte came to
The police arrested on Thursday afternoon a suspect in the 2009 “Ampatuan massacre,” after another was killed in a shootout in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao earlier the same day.