Palace downplays dip in press freedom rank

Malacañang yesterday downplayed and disputed the Philippines’ lower ranking in the press freedom index and advised journalists not to be onion-skinned if President Duterte responds to reports critical of him.

The Philippines fell two notches in the World Press Freedom Index, the fourth time it got a lower ranking on the list. It ranked 138th out of 180 countries this year, lower than its 136th ranking last year, according to a report released by press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The country placed 134th in 2019 and 133rd three years ago.

RSF cited the non-renewal of the franchise of broadcast giant ABSCBN and what it described as a “grotesque judicial harassment campaign” against news website Rappler.

“Well, first, it’s just two notches

lower. It’s de minimis, meaning it does not say much,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing.

Roque said the Philippines still ranked fourth among Southeast Asian countries ahead of Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, Singapore, Laos and Vietnam.

He, however, claimed that the issues involving ABS-CBN and Rappler should not have been considered in the Philippines’ ranking.

“We see nothing wrong with it but of course, we dispute also the ranking because Reporters Without Borders considered as affront to press freedom the Rappler issue, because we know it was a decision made by (officials of) SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) who were not appointed by President Duterte,” Roque said.

The Palace spokesman was referring to the revocation of Rappler’s operating license over alleged violation of foreign equity provisions in the Constitution, an allegation that the news website has denied.

“The same with ABS-CBN, which we all know is required to have a franchise,” Roque said.

“So, we also dispute that these two issues should have not led to the decline in our ranking,” he added.

Last July, the House legislative franchises committee rejected a bill that would have given ABS-CBN a fresh franchise, a move widely seen as an attack on press freedom. The shutdown has forced the network to lay off thousands of its workers while the Philippines is struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roque said Duterte is aware of the role of the media and allows journalists to perform their work.

“Our message to the media is if there are harsh criticisms against the President, sometimes, the President also comes up with a harsh response,” Roque said in Filipino.

“In the same way that we expect the President not to be onion-skinned, the media should not be onion-skinned when the President responds,” he added.