Philippines climbs press freedom ranking, but risks linger

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

The Philippines has climbed to 116th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, marking a significant improvement from its 134th-place ranking in 2024.

RSF reported that the country’s overall score rose to 49.57 in 2025 from 43.36 the previous year.

The organization noted that “the Philippine media are extremely dynamic despite the government’s targeted attacks and constant harassment of journalists and media outlets regarded as overly critical.”

Radio and television remain the country’s dominant news sources, with GMA-7 holding nearly half of the national audience share.

ABS-CBN, which lost its broadcast franchise in 2020, continues to expand its digital presence.

Print outlets, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer, have shifted their focus to online platforms as readership habits evolve.

RSF said the political climate for journalists has changed since the end of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in 2022.

Duterte’s administration was marked by “many verbal attacks against journalists coupled with judicial harassment,” including the non-renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise and cyberattacks on independent news sites.

RSF observed fewer violent incidents under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration, but warned that threats, intimidation, and red-tagging remain common.

LAWFARE

The group emphasized that defamation and cyberlibel laws continue to expose journalists to possible imprisonment.

The legal environment remains challenging despite constitutional guarantees of press freedom.

RSF highlighted the ongoing legal battles of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, noting that she “faces the possibility of several decades in prison” due to multiple cases filed by government agencies, even after her 2023 acquittal in a tax case.

ECONOMIC STRAINS

Economic pressures also threaten media independence.

RSF pointed to increasing concentration of media ownership and growing political influence over major networks.

It cited the rise of the Villar Group and the expanding media interests of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, whose company entered a joint venture with ABS-CBN’s radio business in 2023.

Independent online outlets continue to provide alternative reporting but face financial instability.

Regional newspapers, once influential, struggle to survive without strong digital operations.

IMPUNITY

RSF warned that the Philippines remains “one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists,” recalling the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in which 32 reporters were killed.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security, created in 2016, has made little progress in addressing impunity.

As of 2026, RSF recorded no journalists killed in the country but reported one journalist currently detained: Frenchie Mae Cumpio of Tacloban City, who was convicted of terrorism financing charges by the Tacloban Regional Trial Court earlier this year.

The organization said women journalists have also continued to face gender-based threats, including online harassment and doxxing.

RSF, headquartered in Paris, advocates for press freedom worldwide through its network of international offices and more than 150 correspondents across five continents.