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Irene Khan, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression
and opinion, spent almost two weeks in the Philippines to assess
the state of free speech and media rights.
She described the murder of journalists as the "most egregious
form of censorship".
"The Philippines remains a dangerous country for journalists,"
Khan said, adding "much more needs to be done to attack
impunity".
Citing data provided by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), she said 81 cases
of journalist killings have not been prosecuted or investigated.
Since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took over as president in 2022, at
least four journalists have been killed.
The Philippines is ranked 132nd out of 180 countries on the
World Press Freedom Index.
Khan also recommended disbanding a government task force
mandated to end half a century of communist insurgency, saying
the possible restart of peace talks had made its existence
"outdated". A U.N. special rapporteur who visited Manila last
year had a similar recommendation.
The task force has been accused of "red-tagging", the practice
of accusing government critics of being rebel sympathisers as a
pre-text to silence, arrest or even kill them.
The practice, Khan said, suppresses legal activism and freedom
of expression.
Jonathan Malaya, the national security council spokesperson,
told a separate briefing that legal remedies are in place for
victims and that the government does not condone the practice.
The task force will "transition to a different body", given the
weakening communist insurgency, Malaya said.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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