RP drops 11 notches on press freedom list

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines dropped 11 spots this year in the annual press freedom ranking of the group Reporters Without Borders.

In the Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2008 posted on the group’s website, the Philippines ranked 139th this year, down from 128th in 2007.

In the Press Freedom Index 2006, the Philippines ranked 142nd.

There were 173 countries included in this year’s index.

Countries like Nigeria (131st), Kazakhstan (125th), Angola (116th), Haiti (73rd), Timor-Leste (65th), and Serbia (64th) fared better than the Philippines in the list this year.

The 2008 list was topped by Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Latvia, New Zealand, and Slovakia.

Those at the bottom of the index this year included Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Burma, Cuba, Vietnam, China, Iran, Sri Lanka, Laos, Palestinian Territories, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia.

“Asia still has the biggest representation in the 10 countries at the bottom of the ranking. Most of them are dictatorships, but they also for the first time include Sri Lanka, which has an elected government and where the press faces violence that is only too often organized by the state,” the report stated.

The press freedom watchdog, in its report this year, said corruption is among the reasons why some countries fared poorly in the ranking.

The group said the problem “eats away at democracies.”

“And the existence of people who break the law to get rich and who punish inquisitive journalists with impunity is a scourge that keeps several ‘great countries’.... in shameful positions,” the group said.

Reporters cited Bulgaria, at 59th place, is still last in Europe.

The group said the case of Bulgaria serves as a reminder that universal suffrage, media pluralism and some constitutional guarantees are not enough to ensure effective press freedom.

“The climate must also favor the flow of information and expression of opinions,” the group said.

The report highlighted the importance of peace in a country in relation to press freedom.

“It is not economic prosperity but peace that guarantees press freedom. That is the main lesson to be drawn from the world press freedom index,” the group said.

Reporters also cited the case of the “infernal trio” of Turkmenistan (171st), North Korea (172nd) and Eritrea (173rd).

The group also slammed conflict countries like Iraq (158th), Pakistan (152nd), Afghanistan (156th) and Somalia (153rd), which they said are “highly dangerous black zones” where journalists continue to be targets for kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, murder or death threats every day.