Stand up for press freedom and oppose military repression

Fr. Santiago "Sanny" Salas
Spokesperson in Eastern Visayas
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
October 07, 2004

The NDF-Eastern Visayas supports the independence of the mass media in the region and strongly condemns Maj. Gen. Glenn Rabonza for attacking the journalists who attended the NDF-EV press conference last April as �dancing with the enemy.� Rabonza and Maj. Neneveigh Alcovindas, civil relations chief of the 8th Infantry Division, are going even further with their saber-rattling by demanding that the mass media should not communicate with �enemies of the state.� They should apologize to the concerned journalists, cease and desist from suppressing press freedom, and acknowledge that the rights of civilians are paramount over the military.

Such arrogant posturing by the 8th Infantry Division fuels the outrage of the mass media over the suppression of press freedom and the danger to the lives of journalists. It underscores that press freedom is often trampled upon in the country. Press censorship is routinely practiced by Malakanyang and the powers-that-be who are big politicians, big businessmen and top military officials. Self-censorship among the reporters, editors and commentators are also imposed by the capitalist owners of media establishments in collaboration or under pressure by those in power. Libel cases are thrown at journalists who expose corruption, plunder, violence and other atrocities. The high and the mighty also undermine the mass media by paying for favorable publicity and twisting the truth in their favor. Worst of all, more than 50 journalists have been murdered in the Philippines since 1986 and the country is among those with the highest number of killings of media persons.

The military�s clamping on the mass media jives with the Arroyo regime�s intensifying political repression amidst grave socio-economic crisis. The reactionary government desperately wants to repress the people who are realizing that the revolutionary solution is the only way out of poverty and powerlessness. Thus in their counterrevolutionary war, the military also uses civilian government agencies and even the mass media to condition the people and to stifle dissent. These psychological operations for �winning hearts and minds� are bound to fail because it is an overwhelming reality that the Arroyo regime is anti-people, corrupt, pro-imperialist and cannot deliver basic social services nor solve the present crisis.

Whether or not the civilian government and the mass media go with them, the military is hell-bent on unleashing state violence against the people and the press, and violating civil liberties like the freedom of speech. Military rule and not civilian authority is dominant in the countryside. This is proven by the exposure last August of the militarization of Basey, Western Samar that led to many human rights violations; even children were threatened by the fascist soldiers. The people, the municipal government and the mass media thus united and roundly condemned the 46th Infantry Battalion for launching massive military operations that violated the rights of civilians and without even informing the civilian officials. Mainly because of the strong opposition of various sectors, the 46th IB is being transferred to Bohol.

We call on the mass media in the region to stand up for press freedom and oppose military repression. The press has no obligation to please the military but a moral obligation to tell the truth to the people. In the face of the Arroyo regime�s growing repression and the military�s threatening stance, the people, the mass media, and other sectors must unite to immediately expose the violations of press freedom and civil liberties and frustrate the attempts to institute a virtual martial rule. #

For confirmation, contact:
Roy Santos, NDF-EV Media Liaison Officer
Cellphone No. 0918-3112138
E-mail: [email protected]

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