Great tragedy
This oligarchic rule is the great tragedy of the Philippines, and the cycle of corruption and rigged “elections” continues, with wealth still concentrated in the hands of a few while the majority go hungry and yearn for a life without poverty. The media is the only avenue through which voices of protest can be heard. But media practitioners are themselves under pressure and facing threats.
“The truth shall set you free” is widely believed by many, and they go on revealing the truth through the media — both traditional and social — and on the streets in the hope of freeing themselves from the elites’ political and economic oppression. They hope to succeed in casting off the chains of poverty.
Protests and growing demands for freedom from injustice and poverty have brought increasing pressure on an anxious elite to respond and stop some of the corruption by the greediest among them and spend more on eradicating poverty. As a result, the poverty rate in the Philippines dropped to a historic single-digit low of 9.7 percent in 2025 — affecting about 11.08 million individuals — down from 15.5 percent in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. While less than one in 10 Filipinos live below the official poverty line, roughly 28 percent of the population remains just above it, leaving as many as 11 million poor Filipinos in dire poverty. They are most vulnerable to economic shocks, job losses and inflation. Inflation has reached a staggering 7.2 percent. Transportation costs are up 11.9 percent while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased by 7.7 percent nationally. Some food items like vegetables increased by 10.7 percent.
The strength and influence of the media have been to unite people behind a particular issue that has made the ruling elite direct the response of the police to be harsh and abusive. The police, it seems, are ordered to silence the protests, intimidate the media, and punish investigators and reporters. “Red-tagging” — branding certain people, including media practitioners, as communists, subversives or terrorists — is used to silence critics. The Philippines continues to be classified as “one of the most hazardous nations globally for journalists under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” said The Diplomat magazine. Memories of activist media reporting that helped topple the regime of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. are still fresh.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines reported 256 press freedom violations since the start of the current administration, while the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility recorded 239 cases from July 2022 to April 2026 — a disturbing increase. Their investigations pointed to police as enforcers of the media crackdown. At least eight journalists have been killed during the current administration, with provincial broadcasters particularly targeted.
Media practitioners, editors and news managers, while dedicated and committed to the highest standards of truth-telling, walk a moral tightrope, trying to maintain a balance between the demands and expectations of their corporate owners and their commitment to reporting the truth. Their continued existence depends on their many abilities and commitment to truth in crossing that divide. (shaycullen@gmail.com)/PN
