30/08/2026
๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ, ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ, ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐๐!
On National Press Freedom Day, the UPLB College of Economics and Management Student Council stands with journalists, campus journalists, and media workers who continue to uphold the peopleโs right to truth and information amid the intensifying attacks against press freedom in the Philippines.
The state of press freedom in the Philippines remains alarming. In the 2026 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Philippines ranked 114th out of 180 countries, with a score of only 46.79 out of 100. While the country climbed two places from its 2025 ranking, its actual score dropped from 49.57 to 46.79, reflecting a deterioration in the conditions for journalism. RSF continues to classify the Philippines among the countries where journalists face serious threats, citing red-tagging, the weaponization of terrorism charges, legal harassment, and violence against the press.
The numbers become even more disturbing when placed alongside the violence faced by journalists. RSF has recorded three journalists killed in the Philippines since the beginning of 2026 alone, while UNESCO's Observatory of Killed Journalists has recorded more than 120 journalist killings in the country since 1993. The persistence of these killingsโand the continuing impunity surrounding themโreveals a press freedom crisis that cannot be measured by rankings alone.
In Southern Tagalog, human rights defender and former CEGP Quezon Provincial Coordinator Alexandrea Pacalda faces trumped-up charges and remains in detention under false accusations, after being arrested by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in General Luna, Quezon. In Eastern Visayas, radio broadcaster Frenchie Mae Cumpio remains imprisoned after years of detention and a false conviction, which has been condemned by various human rights organizations for lacking evidence. Frenchie Mae remains the only Filipino journalist in detention for doing her job. Meanwhile, RJ Nichole Ledesma, a community journalist, would've celebrated his 31st birthday had he not been brutally killed by the military in Negros Occidental last April.
These cases demonstrate how fascism and repression operates against the pressโfrom red-tagging and surveillance, to criminalization and imprisonment, and ultimately to lethal violence. When journalists are persecuted for documenting the truth, it is the people who are ultimately deprived of their right to know.
And this culture of impunity and repression continues to proliferate even in our academic spaces. Student publications and campus journalists are vital democratic institutions. They document student realities, amplify grievances, expose abuses, and hold university authorities accountable. Yet campus journalists, too, face censorship, administrative interference, harassment, red-tagging, and other forms of repression. A campus press that cannot freely question is not free; a university that cannot tolerate a critical press cannot claim to be a truly democratic institution.
As Iskolars ng Bayan, we recognize that defending press freedom means defending our collective right to speak, organize, dissent, and participate meaningfully in society. We stand with journalists and campus press workers who continue to practice their craft despite threats, harassment, and repression.
๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ข! ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข๐ช! ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐! ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ก ๐ฑ! ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐! ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ข๐ !
