UN urges Philippines to investigate jailed journalists
The UN's rapporteur for freedom of expression has asked Philippine authorities to review the cases of journalists detained in the Southeast Asian country.
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00:00 I'm like, "Chineka?"
00:02 In lockdown.
00:04 This is last year.
00:06 There are things that Joby gave me.
00:12 Jube.
00:25 We focus on stories not usually covered in the mainstream media.
00:30 So we publish stories of farmers, workers, and other marginalized sectors.
00:36 We're very critical of the government.
00:38 That's one of the advocacies of the publication of the organization,
00:43 to be vocal of government abuses, especially on corruption and human rights.
00:49 For a long time, the government has been accusing
00:52 Pinoy Weekly, Bulatlat, and other alternative media outfits
00:57 of being fronts of the communist movement here in the Philippines.
01:20 NUJP documented 109 cases of these attacks,
01:25 ranging from surveillance, harassment, verbal threats,
01:31 and arrest and trump up charges.
01:36 It also includes libel and cyber libel,
01:40 and the practice of red-tagging journalists.
01:44 I'm not expecting to be killed.
01:47 Not in the first year!
01:49 [indistinct chatter]
02:18 I hope, after my visit, the government authorities will look into those cases,
02:22 review the case, and dismiss the charges,
02:25 or bring them to trial rapidly, with full due process,
02:29 so that it can be decided whether or not they are guilty.
02:32 And the blocking of websites is a direct form of censorship,
02:36 which requires a high degree of scrutiny.
02:39 I have recommended an executive order denouncing this practice
02:43 and setting out very clear measures that can be taken to discourage,
02:49 disincentivise, and discipline those who violate the policy.
02:54 policy.
02:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]