The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) calls for stronger and sustained measures to protect journalists and media workers as the country marks National Press Week from 08 to 14 February. The Commission stresses that the public’s right to truth cannot be upheld while journalists continue to face threats, harassment, violence, and legal intimidation in the course of their work.

A free and independent press is essential to democracy and the realization of other rights. Journalists document abuses, expose wrongdoing, and enable accountability. Yet intimidation, surveillance, attacks, and the misuse of laws continue to undermine press freedom and restrict public access to truthful information.

In line with its Constitutional mandate, the CHR remains committed to addressing gaps in the protection of media workers. Anchored on the Philippine Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists (PPASJ), the Commission advances protection, policy, and prevention measures to strengthen media safety and accountability mechanisms. Journalist safety goes beyond physical security and includes legal, digital, professional, and structural protections necessary for independent and ethical reporting.

The CHR conducts media sessions nationwide to provide journalists with platforms to raise safety concerns and professional constraints. These engagements surface region-specific risks and inform the Commission’s protection and policy interventions.

To ground these engagements at the local level, the Commission has integrated its Media Forum into the Lakbay Karapatan Tungo sa Kamalayan (LaKarAn) human rights caravan in various regions. Led by CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc and rolled out by CHR Regional Offices, the caravan grounds media safety initiatives in the realities faced by journalists at the local level and strengthens dialogue between media workers, communities, and duty bearers.[1][2][3][4]

To strengthen regional implementation of the PPASJ, the CHR conducts Stakeholders’ Dialogues for the Media Safety Mechanism with the Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines and International Media Support. Since last year, these dialogues have been held with the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to identify regional concerns and improve coordination. Sessions have taken place in Dumaguete City, Baguio City, and most recently, Pagadian City.

On 27 August 2025, the CHR and PTFoMS formalized their collaboration through a Memorandum of Agreement to strengthen joint efforts to protect media workers from threats, harassment, and violence.[5]

As part of its Tanggol Mamamahayag initiatives, the Commission institutionalized the Alisto! Alert Mechanism and the CHR Task Force on the Safety of Journalists to ensure that threats are promptly reported and addressed through coordinated responses.[6] These efforts are complemented by the Human Rights-Based Approach to Reporting Training, which grounds journalistic practice in human rights principles and ethical standards.[7]

The CHR also supports measures that help build a conducive environment for media freedom. This includes support for media-citizen press councils as voluntary, independent spaces for dialogue, ethical accountability, and public engagement. These mechanisms strengthen public trust, promote responsible journalism, and provide non-punitive avenues for addressing grievances.

At the policy level, the CHR continues to push for reforms that address structural threats to press freedom. The Commission calls on Congress to advance measures to decriminalize libel and cyberlibel, stressing that imprisonment for defamation undermines freedom of expression and enables legal harassment through Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Consistent with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the CHR reiterates that criminal penalties are incompatible with democratic discourse and urges reforms that replace imprisonment with proportionate civil remedies.[8]

The CHR also continues to address the situation of women in the media. Through the Women Journalists as Women Human Rights Defenders Forum held on 28 November 2025, the Commission highlighted gender-specific risks such as harassment, threats, and digital attacks, and underscored the need for targeted protection measures for women journalists.[9]

Journalists are human rights defenders. They expose abuses and make rights visible. Protecting them is part of the State’s duty to protect human rights defenders. Through concrete measures and legal reform, the CHR affirms that protecting journalists is indispensable to upholding the public’s right to truth.

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[1] CHR’s LaKarAn Phase 2 Kicks Off in Northern Mindanao, 19 September 2025, bit.ly/48kRhSQ
[2] CHR brings ‘Lakbay Karapatan Tungo sa Kamalayan’ to Kalinga, 05 November 2025, bit.ly/493SX3E
[3] CHR continues grassroots human rights campaign through LaKarAn in Eastern Visayas, 06 November 2025, bit.ly/4qSae6n
[4] CHR concludes LaKarAn human rights campaign for 2025 in Western Visayas, 09 December 2025, bit.ly/48ZkvXh
[5] CHR and PTFoMS forge stronger partnership to protect media workers’ rights and safety, 27 August 2025, bit.ly/4mWlLyA
[6] Statement of the Commission on Human Rights launching the Alisto! Alert Mechanism to support the Philippine Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, as part of the National Press Week celebration, 17 February 2024, bit.ly/3SLPtJ0
[7] CHR launches its first-ever Human Rights-Based Approach Training to Reporting for Filipino Journalists, 31 March 2025, bit.ly/3RqHXTF
[8] CHR supports bills seeking to decriminalize libel and cyberlibel, 28 January 2026, bit.ly/46Bf2Er
[9] CHR leads ‘Women in Media’ Forum, advocates women journalists’ welfare on International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, 29 November 2025, bit.ly/489mb0a