DOJ exec: Marcos administration committed to protecting journalists

MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) assured on Thursday that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration will continue to firmly investigate any incidents of attacks on journalists, acknowledging journalism’s role in nation-building.

DOJ spokesman Jose Dominic Clavano IV gave the assurance after the release of the country’s supposed ranking in terms of newspersons’ safety by a private New York based organization.

“This Index will not stop the new administration from investigating and prosecuting work-related killing and harassment of journalists,” he said in a statement.

“We understand the importance of good journalism and we will take concrete steps in protecting those that simply want to keep the government and its officials in check. It is a right we must respect and preserve,” Clavano added.

According to the 2022 Global Impunity Index published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), up to 80 percent of the 263 incidents of murders of journalists it documented worldwide over the past 10 years remains unsolved.

The CPJ report ranked the country seventh out of the top 10 countries on its list, with 14 journalists murdered.

According to the CPJ, Somalia is the most unsafe country for journalists, with 19 unsolved murders of journalists out of a population of 16.4 million, followed by Syria (16 deaths out of 18.3 million), South Sudan (5 deaths out of 11.4 million), Afghanistan (17 deaths out of 39.8 million), Iraq (17 deaths out of 41.2 million), and Mexico (28 deaths in a population of 130.3 million).

The Philippines ranked just above Myanmar (5 death, 54.8 million population), Brazil (13 deaths, 214 million), Pakistan (9 deaths, 225.2 million), and India (20 deaths, 1.3 billion).