NATIONAL PRESS WEEK 2026: Protecting journalists key to democracy, CHR says

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The Commission on Human Rights is calling for stronger and sustained measures to protect journalists and media workers as the Philippines marks National Press Week from Feb. 8–14, warning that the public’s right to truth cannot be upheld while media practitioners continue to face threats, harassment, violence, and legal intimidation in the course of their work.

In a statement, the commission said a free and independent press is essential to democracy and the realization of other rights, noting that journalists document abuses, expose wrongdoing, and help enable accountability.

CHR said intimidation, surveillance, attacks, and the misuse of laws continue to undermine press freedom and restrict public access to truthful information.

Anchored on the Philippine Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists, the commission said it remains committed – under its constitutional mandate – to addressing gaps in protections for media workers through measures focused on protection, policy, and prevention.

CHR said journalist safety goes beyond physical security and includes legal, digital, professional, and structural protections needed for independent and ethical reporting.

As part of its work, the commission said it conducts media sessions nationwide to give journalists platforms to raise safety concerns and professional constraints, with the engagements surfacing region-specific risks that inform CHR protection and policy interventions.

To ground those engagements locally, CHR said it integrated its Media Forum into the Lakbay Karapatan Tungo sa Kamalayan human rights caravan in various regions, with the caravan led by CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc and rolled out by CHR regional offices to strengthen dialogue among media workers, communities, and duty bearers.

To strengthen regional implementation of the PPASJ, CHR said it conducts stakeholders’ dialogues for the Media Safety Mechanism with the Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines and International Media Support, and that since last year the sessions have been held with the Presidential Task Force on Media Security to identify regional concerns and improve coordination.

CHR said those sessions have taken place in Dumaguete City, Baguio City, and most recently Pagadian City.

On Aug. 27, 2025, CHR and PTFoMS formalized their collaboration through a memorandum of agreement aimed at strengthening joint efforts to protect media workers from threats, harassment, and violence.

As part of its Tanggol Mamamahayag initiatives, the commission said it institutionalized the Alisto! Alert Mechanism and the CHR Task Force on the Safety of Journalists to ensure threats are promptly reported and addressed through coordinated responses.

CHR said those efforts are complemented by its Human Rights-Based Approach to Reporting training, which grounds journalistic practice in human rights principles and ethical standards.

The commission also said it supports measures meant to build a more conducive environment for media freedom, including support for media-citizen press councils as voluntary and independent spaces for dialogue, ethical accountability, and public engagement.

CHR said the councils can strengthen public trust, promote responsible journalism, and provide non-punitive avenues for addressing grievances.

At the policy level, CHR called on Congress to advance measures to decriminalize libel and cyberlibel, arguing that imprisonment for defamation undermines freedom of expression and enables legal harassment through Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

Citing Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the commission said criminal penalties are incompatible with democratic discourse and urged reforms that replace imprisonment with proportionate civil remedies.

CHR also flagged risks faced by women in the media, pointing to the Women Journalists as Women Human Rights Defenders Forum held on Nov. 28, 2025, which highlighted gender-specific harms such as harassment, threats, and digital attacks and underscored the need for targeted protection measures for women journalists.

The commission said journalists are human rights defenders whose work makes rights visible, framing their protection as part of the state’s duty to protect human rights defenders and uphold the public’s right to truth.

National Press Week is observed annually during the second week of February under Proclamation No. 161.