If pens are forcibly prevented from doing their jobs, swords will again be given a chance to summon a bloody battle. Harsh as it may sound, the recent clamors brought upon by the brutal and drastic ways to silence the press are echoing louder in the country. Pens that can tell the truth and have the potential to deliver justice are being blotted with red stains, thus weakening their forces and trying to bring them down.
The role that the media plays in the awareness of the masses is crucial. They turn scenarios into words and relay them to people. Halting them to do so is an action not only committed to repressing the media but also the people themselves. Freedom of expression, which enables everyone to possess the right to get hold of information and to be free to express themselves, is being tampered with, as the hands of abusive people violently cover the mouths of journalists and media practitioners.
Rampant scenarios have been occurring and it even reached a point where a journalist’s life was taken away just because he was doing his job. Last September 14, a Balangibog TV journalist which goes by the name of Jobert “Polpog” Bercasio was shot dead at Sea Breeze Homes in Sorsogon City at around 8 p.m. He was the 17th journalist killed in the Duterte administration.
Similar scenario occurred last June 2020 as Maria Ressa, one of the most prominent journalists today from Rappler, was accused and was found guilty of cyber libel over a story that alleged links between a businessman and a top judge. A journalist with the intent to put the true criminal behind the cold bars of the prison ended up being the one caged, trapped, and silenced.
In a snap, the tides turned on her due to one reason: power. Additionally, the ABS-CBN Shutdown, which caused an uproar to the public, reveals how much power can overrule the law. “This is ABS-CBN, now signing off.” These were the last words heard from the network’s golden voice, as the country’s biggest network signed off after the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) ordered it to shut down.
Just recently, this media giant was denied by 70 lawmakers with a new franchise, halting news and other entertainment shows to be aired. Such happening exposes that the people sitting in power can even bring down a giant voice that people have trusted for decades just because it does not favor their side.
The silent cries of journalists and media practitioners continue as the current situation tries to disable them from doing their jobs. Many other journalists and media practitioners are out there, trying to deliver relevant facts to the people every day while facing these threats and gambling their lives, just for people to attain the information that they deserve.
The happenings involving the media and the acts to repress it endanger Philippine democracy as well as the people’s rights. With the media being pushed to the edge, the freedom of information and the right to expression goes along with it.
A chaotic scenario awaits the masses if this keeps up. However, the pen continues to battle in the forefront no matter how much it is tried to be stepped on. It is struggling so that the sword would not champ over it. It is in the frontline, defending freedom and truth as it hopes for the
The role that the media plays in the awareness of the masses is crucial. They turn scenarios into words and relay them to people. Halting them to do so is an action not only committed to repressing the media but also the people themselves. Freedom of expression, which enables everyone to possess the right to get hold of information and to be free to express themselves, is being tampered with, as the hands of abusive people violently cover the mouths of journalists and media practitioners.
Rampant scenarios have been occurring and it even reached a point where a journalist’s life was taken away just because he was doing his job. Last September 14, a Balangibog TV journalist which goes by the name of Jobert “Polpog” Bercasio was shot dead at Sea Breeze Homes in Sorsogon City at around 8 p.m. He was the 17th journalist killed in the Duterte administration.
Similar scenario occurred last June 2020 as Maria Ressa, one of the most prominent journalists today from Rappler, was accused and was found guilty of cyber libel over a story that alleged links between a businessman and a top judge. A journalist with the intent to put the true criminal behind the cold bars of the prison ended up being the one caged, trapped, and silenced.
In a snap, the tides turned on her due to one reason: power. Additionally, the ABS-CBN Shutdown, which caused an uproar to the public, reveals how much power can overrule the law. “This is ABS-CBN, now signing off.” These were the last words heard from the network’s golden voice, as the country’s biggest network signed off after the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) ordered it to shut down.
Just recently, this media giant was denied by 70 lawmakers with a new franchise, halting news and other entertainment shows to be aired. Such happening exposes that the people sitting in power can even bring down a giant voice that people have trusted for decades just because it does not favor their side.
The silent cries of journalists and media practitioners continue as the current situation tries to disable them from doing their jobs. Many other journalists and media practitioners are out there, trying to deliver relevant facts to the people every day while facing these threats and gambling their lives, just for people to attain the information that they deserve.
The happenings involving the media and the acts to repress it endanger Philippine democracy as well as the people’s rights. With the media being pushed to the edge, the freedom of information and the right to expression goes along with it.
A chaotic scenario awaits the masses if this keeps up. However, the pen continues to battle in the forefront no matter how much it is tried to be stepped on. It is struggling so that the sword would not champ over it. It is in the frontline, defending freedom and truth as it hopes for the
Filipinos to do the same.
𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚
𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 – 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 2020
𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚
𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 – 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 2020
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