Meeting halfway

Hope sparked anew for the Philippine media that an absolute freedom of the press can still be attained with the recent release of the Freedom of the Press 2011: A Global Survey of Media Independence report stating that the liberty of press in the country had “improved marginally” in 2010 and have somewhat recovered by moving up several notches from its stand in 2009.
The report, published by Freedom House, an independent organization that “supports global freedom through comprehensive analysis, dedicated advocacy, and concrete assistance for democratic activists around the world since 1980,” stated that the Philippines ranked 93rd from its previous spot in the 97th place.
With its release also marking the Press Freedom day last May 3, 2011, the Freedom of the Press report assessed 196 countries and territories that were given numerical scores of zero being the most free, and 100 being the least free. Of the 196, the Philippines gained the status of having a “Partly Free” media with the score of 46 points, which were given based on:  the official area in which the media function; the influence of politics when it comes to reporting; access to information, and the economic pressures on the content and the propagation of news.
The Philippines failed on most of the said criteria in the year 2009, with the report of 32 journalists and media men along with 26 others killed in the
Massacre in Maguindanao last November of 2009. The suppression of freedom of speech went on in 2010, where media men from several parts of the country were killed according to the International Federation of Journalists. This is one of the factors why the Philippines ranked 97th in the Freedom of the Press report in 2010.
Media organizations have recently called on President Aquino in an open letter to act on, and put a stop to the killing of journalists in the country, especially that which involved the case of the killing of journalists and other civilians in Maguindanao last November of 2009.  The groups criticized the judicial system for the slow-paced trial against the alleged masterminds behind the Maguindanao Massacre. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, meanwhile, said in a report from QTV’s Balitanghali that she wants to hear out the concerns of the victims’ families “and give them the assurance and the firm commitment of the institution that justice will be delivered.”
Like any privileges, the right to freedom of speech should be used with utmost discretion with the aim of contributing to a better nation.  For people who live to serve the public—the press and the government both—this phrase applies very well. In the case of harnessing the power to deliver a message to many, it is the responsibility of the media to fearlessly report the unbiased truth. The government, on the other hand, should not take advantage of their power to rule, but instead use it to protect the welfare of the people—including the ones that they sometimes have disagreements with.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(Northern California May 6-12, 2011 Sec A pg.8)