Truth must fly like a bird flapping its wings in the air. However, some uneven lines are fixed together, leaving tiny holes surrounding their wings, blocking the ability to fly and feel the breeze of the atmosphere. They are tying the beaks with small pieces of fabric, trying to cover the mouth that has the light of truth. The predators’ laughs filled the forest of unknown as they started to dip the pen in the red stain from the wings of injured democracy, creating a spot of ink to write their revision of truth. The completely new version of the book was filled with different lies and table-turning statements that filled the ears of the people asking for truth to act for their survival. The birds were locked in a four-cornered room, unable to speak for their knowns. The lies devastate the world of survival.
Humans are like animals who act and respond for their survival depending on what they feel and hear about what’s happening in their environment. The truth looks like clean water whose reflection appears as clear as the bright sky where the birds freely fly. These birds are like the media and press that serve as the middle line of the people and truth. Like the birds, some of them were caught by the predators who are polluting the authenticity to hide their skeletons in the closet. Press freedom is a crucial part of society so that people will have a clear vision of what they should expect to happen the next day.
This year, on the 3rd of May, we celebrate the 30th world press freedom with a theme of “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights.” This celebration was organized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1993. Press freedom was first proclaimed in December 1993 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, following UNESCO’s recommendation. It was celebrated every 3rd of May, in line with the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, which was first signed on May 3, 1991. Declaration of Windhoek was the first series of commitments wherein it supported the freedom of people to voice their opinions.
Until this year, journalists and media faced the same conflict each day wherein they were being vilified and attacked. In the year 2016, under the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, journalists faced major vilification from the president, resulting in a lower rate of people’s trust in media and journalists. He vowed he’d get back to those who wronged him and criticized his war on drug program. Amid the pandemic, on May 5, 2020, one of the biggest broadcasting media networks was forced to close its 42 television stations, ten digital broadcast channels, and 23 radio channels, after their renewal of franchise was denied because of different questions from the Congress, hindering their renewal, ABS-CBN.
Like ABS-CBN, Maria Ressa and her founded news site, Rappler, were also vilified after they mainly criticized Duterte’s war on drugs and the president itself. Ressa and her colleagues faced several accusations, bailed several times, and were imprisoned for years. She was accused of fraud, tax evasion, receiving money from the Central Intelligence Agency, and cyberdefamation. Maria Ressa is known as the most prominent journalist for her crusade against disinformation and a constant criticizer of the former President. This series of events resulted in Rappler being banned from presidential events, hindering the said news site in gathering information for their news article. If in America, former President Donald Trump called American reporters as “enemy of the people,” Duterte called the reporters and journalists “son of the b*tch.”
On November 23, 2009, 32 journalists were massacred following their coverage of the filing of the certificate of candidacy for the provincial governor of then-Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who ran against the Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr., who was then a mayor of Datu Unsay. Fifty-eight people, including Mangudadatu’s wife, other female relatives, supporters, and journalists were buried in broad daylight in Ampatuan town, the other 6 victims were said to just pass by when they were also killed.
These events including the harm and danger in press work bring several issues that involve hindering the truth to prevail in the nation. Press freedom is an essential pillar of democracy. Journalists must have the freedom to share the reality happening around us without the fear and danger of death. Just like how the birds must fly and feel the breeze of wind, journalists must have the freedom to flap their wings, too, to spread the news to the people who need to hear it. There should not be nets that trap the birds and hide their freedom from them. There should be fabrics that cover the mouth of the truth bearer. There are no other versions of the truth. There are no other sides to the facts. There should not be red ink that covers the reality in our world. We all deserve the truth. Press deserves to be heard and seen as a helper for the brighter vision of actuality.
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