It is an undisputed fact that journalists have been perpetually fighting to get to the place where they ought to be—on the picket line of democracy and truth, mirroring the situations of the toiling masses. We came from a long history of threats and censorship directed toward media practitioners, and agonizingly, this line of history still could not draw its end. Not in this administration, the very thing that the scathed Filipinos from the past four decades have prevented from reclaiming their seats.
As we are about to face another uncertainty worth six years (at least), it is neither the choice of the press to lurk idly nor the choice of the people to remain shut that we want to foster in the next generations; it is the obstinate will to resist. As a reflection of the past, the freedom of the press is as abstract as it can be now that we have another man from the bloodline of the ruthless dictator of 1972.
One dictatorship ago
The cold dead body of the older strongman may be resting in peace at the Libingan ng mga Bayani—to which he never belonged, but the media practitioners whom he seized powers from had never seen and known peace since then.
At this juncture, we cite Rappler’s timeline coverage of the atrocities of Martial Law on journalism and journalists. Juan Mercado, the founder of Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and co-founder of the Philippine Press Council (PPC), Teodoro Locsin Sr. of Philippine Free Press, Chino Roces of Manila Times, Maximo Soliven of Philippine Star, Amando Doronila of the Manila Chronicle, and best-known broadcaster and columnist Luis Beltran—do these names ring a bell? Because aside from being veteran journalists in the 1970s, there is one thing they all had in common; all were arrested and detained during the Martial Law.
Media outlets Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network (ABS-CBN) and Associated Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) were both ordered to shut down as per the Letter of Instruction No. 1-A, issued on September 28, 1972, just five fresh days after the declaration of the dictator’s rule. In turn, Senior’s cronies overtook ABS-CBN and Channel 4 then consigned them into Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and National Media Production Center (NMPC) respectively— short things short, only Marcos-owned or -controlled media outlets were signaled to continue operations.
And as authoritarian as he can get, Senior issued Department Order No. 1, thru the Department of Public Information (DPI), imposing media outlets to follow a sort of rulebook on “positive national value” kind of reporting. Adding salt to the wound, the dictator prohibited any forms of material that directly maligns and incites the people to criticize the government and the military.
Forty-nine timeworn years after Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law and 41 years since his reign ended, but how come it transitions so smoothly to the forthcoming regime, as the supposed thick line between ousting the patriarch kleptocrat and re-electing the idle son in power becomes aggressively blurry?
Forewarning the present
Indignantly, the son of the dictator wins the 2022 presidential election; such a waste of almost-five decades. Tracing back to the start of his campaign, he exhausted the networks of disinformation and rechanneled it to his favor. False news rampantly took over social media on a national level, and this forcibly shaped the minds of most Filipinos who are known to be huge media consumers. There were bickers over fact-checking, a standard practice in journalism detrimental to the material we need to produce and consume.
Lian Buan of Rappler documented the dictator’s son’s campaign and Buan says that there was a clear distinction in the team’s attitude towards the reporters; between those outlets who paint the son in a good light and reporters like her who did not conveniently appear to be their ‘ally’. She says her team was even excluded from the email blasts regarding the frontrunner’s schedule.
Buan says, “The job of journalists is to make sure that the truth is the real truth. Truth will catch up on us eventually, and it's the journalist's role to make that process quicker,’ a nod to the “perception is real, truth is not” sentiment of the convicted Imelda.
Veteran journalist and media personality Jessica Soho was also given the default attitude of the son toward the press. Junior called Soho’s segment biased because it was ‘anti-Marcos’ when it was an interview for all the presidential candidates who sympathize for votes.
These incidents at the duration of the campaign foreshadow the imminent treatment of journalists when the son officially rules. Journalists will never be assured of a safe space and professional encounter with his team. Thus, the message “If you don’t play nice, if you don’t write good stories, then you’ll have a very difficult time covering us” from Buan’s encounter with the team illustrates a clear division between the media and the presumptive ruler.
Time-stretched line
“Journalism under digital siege” is the theme for 2022 World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on the 3rd of May. It was derived from UNESCO’s “Threats that Silence: Trends in the Safety of Journalists” paper, refocusing the lens on safeguarding the voice and profession of the journalists. As we nearly approach the upcoming presidency ruled by the successor of the late dictator, it is a voluntary will to fight back and resist media repression and censorship, both of which we had faced four decades ago.
The thread of struggle pre-woven by the forefront of the opposition and resistance is still long-running and held even by campus journalists; as we were not, and will never be spared from the atrocities of both Marcos’ regimes. From this point forward, we choose to disentangle the web of disinformation, no matter how inextricable it is on the façade. We continue to hold the line of truth and free press.
To quote The Observer’s journalist George Orwell, “Freedom of the press, if anything, means the freedom to criticize and oppose.” For years to come, this thread of struggle and resistance strengthens alongside time.
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