Pinay-made benches highlight UK support for media freedom

MANILA, Philippines — Miniature benches made out of scrap wood and plastic have become a new symbol of the UK’s commitment to defend freedom of the press.

The British embassy in Manila has tapped interior designer and environment advocate Wilhelmina Garcia to design and produce the mini-benches, which were distributed last week during the Philippine launch of the UK’s global campaign in support of media freedom.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. received a mini-bench during his meeting last Friday with British ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce.

“Excellent discussion with @teddyboylocsin of the full range of issues where the United Kingdom and the Philippines work together. I was also delighted to present one of our #Churchill benches, part of the UK’s global #MediaFreedom campaign #JournalismNotACrime,” Pruce wrote on Twitter.

The mini-bench features a media freedom quote from former UK prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, which reads: “A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize; it is the most dangerous foe of tyranny.”

The same quote appears on the life-size benches donated by the British embassy to the freedom park recently inaugurated at the Commission on Human Rights.

During the embassy’s annual media reception last Thursday, Pruce stressed the role of a free press to well-functioning democracy and the rules-based international system.

“In the era of fake news and propaganda, supporting a free media also means countering the incoming tides of disinformation… So the professional standards of courageous, objective, fact-based journalism have never been more important,” he said.

“The UK is committed to media freedom and the protection of journalists across the world. Throughout the year the UK government will shine a spotlight on media freedom issues,” he added.

Garcia is the founder of Junk Not! Eco Creatives, a social enterprise that produces furniture out of plastic wastes and other scraps.

Aside from addressing the problem of plastic waste, the enterprise also provides livelihood to local communities in Taal, Batangas.

Garcia earlier trained locals on how to produce plastic ropes out of discarded plastic packages. She would then purchase the ropes and use them for the designer chairs and other furniture that she produces.

Junk Not! was featured in last year’s Impact Journalism Day (IJD), an international movement of different media organizations that aim to feature concrete solutions that address social development problems.

The STAR is a partner of IJD.

Pruce noted that the freedom of the media is “under serious threat.”

“Around the world, we see journalists and media organizations targeted and harassed, often under the thin veneer of due process,” the envoy said.

“They are prevented from going about their legitimate work. Legislative and practical barriers have increased. The collapse of traditional business models is being aggravated by the undue influence of wealthy political actors,” he said.

Pruce noted that 2018 was one of the deadliest years ever for journalists, where 348 were detained and 80 media practitioners were killed, “including six from the Philippines.”

“I am delighted that the British government will this year be leading a global campaign in support of media freedom. In the coming months you will see us in the embassy very active on this issue,” he said.

In July, the British government will host an international conference in London that aims to bring together countries and individuals to mobilize a consensus behind the protection of journalists.

“This is just the beginning, in the longer term, we want to see a reduction in state barriers to a free media, countries living up to their international commitments and the taboo on attacks against journalists re-gaining widespread acceptance,” Pruce said.

The Philippines ranked 133rd out of 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

Pruce also said there is a clear overlap between countries with the least corruption and the countries with the freest media.

“Of the 10 most corrupt countries in the world, four are also in the bottom of 10 when it comes to press freedom,” Pruce said, referring to the latest Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. – With Helen Flores