Phl drops 7 spots in 2013 Press Freedom Index

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines dropped by seven notches in this year's Press Freedom Index released by France-based Reporters Without Borders for Freedom of Information.

The report, which ranked 179 countries for 2013, saw the Philippines dropping to 147th place from last year's 140th.

Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Andorra, Denmark, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Iceland and Sweden topped the list while Sudan, Cuba, Vietnam, China, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea occupied the bottom 10.

"The ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term," Reporters Without Borders said, adding that the Arab Spring and other political upheavals influenced the rankings last year.

Among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines is behind Brunei (122nd), Thailand (135th), Indonesia (139th), Cambodia (143rd) and Malaysia (145th) and ahead of Singapore (149th), Burma (151st), Laos (168th) and Vietnam (172nd).

The report based this year's ranking on six factors:  pluralism or options presented to the media; media independence or the degree to which media are able to function independently of authorities; environment and self-censorship; legislative framework or the quality of legislative framework and its effectiveness; transparency; and infrastructure.

Luis Teodoro, deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, told philstar.com that the continued killing of journalists, the enactment of the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the slow progress of the Ampatuan massacre contributed to the country's drop in the global rankings.

"The government should address the killings and at least some of the unconstitutional provisions in the Cybercrime Prevention Law should be removed," he said, referring to punishments for cyber libel and the power given to the Justice Department in taking down web sites.

Rowena Paraan, secretary general of the National Union of Journalist of the Philippines, said major factors that continue to restrict press freedom in the country include the killing of media practitioners, the absence of a Freedom of Information bill and the slow progress of cases involving media killings, particularly the Ampatuan massacre.

In a January 2013 report by CMFR, it recorded four work-related killings involving journalists in 2012, a decline from six in 2011.

While there were fewer media killings in 2012, CMFR said none of the cases since 2009 have been solved.

In November 2009, 58 people were massacred in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. At least 32 media practitioners were killed in the incident.

Three years after, the case remains unsolved, as the arraignment of one of the primary suspects in the massacre, former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, only happened in December 2012.

Meanwhile, the Freedom of Information Bill shows little progress in Congress where debates have yet to start. (with a report from Artemio Dumlao)