Community media group AlterMidya Network challenges the Philippine government to disclose the country’s real record on free expression as it prepares for the upcoming visit of UN envoy Irene Khan.

The group is reacting to the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs that said the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression was an “opportunity for to appreciate the well-rooted and flourishing democracy of the Philippines..  as seen in the vibrant media landscape and civic space.”

“This couldn’t be further from the truth as experienced by media practitioners in the Philippines, who continue to face real threats like red-tagging, surveillance, illegal arrest and detention, libel, website blocking, and other attacks,” AlterMidya chairperson Raymund Villanueva said.

The group cited one the latest incidents of red-tagging involving Bicol community journalist Reynard Magtoto of Baretang Bikolnon. The military sent a letter to local officials in Daraga, Albay last December, requesting to meet with Magtoto to discuss matters related to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Bicol, accusing it of being a “target sectoral front organization.”  

Red tagging has been a worrying trend among media practitioners, as it usually leads to heightened risks for individuals and groups that are labeled as leftists. Eastern Vista executive director Frenchie Mae Cumpio, for instance, was red-tagged months before her February 2020 arrest and has remained detained for nearly four years since.

Just last week, Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez terrorist-tagged Cumpio in his January 4 “Paul’s Alarm” column on JournalnewsOnline. Gutierrez wrote: “Nais din niyang (Khan) malaman ang sitwasyon ni Franchie (sic) Mae Cumpio, na kasalukuyang naka-detine.. dahil sa aktibo nitong papel sa lokal na teroristang grupo ng mga komunista.”

Altermidya has denounced this statement by the PTFOMS official, saying that the UNSR should urgently investigate this kind of wanton vilification that puts journalists and media freedom in danger. The groups also called on the Marcos Jr administration to review and implement previous recommendations made by various UN representatives related to protecting journalists and human rights defenders— among these: ending red-tagging and attacks on media freedom, abolishing abusive mechanisms such as National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Anti-Terrorism Law, and conducting impartial investigations towards accountability. #