{"id":242507,"date":"2020-01-17T21:28:27","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T02:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=242507"},"modified":"2020-01-17T21:28:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-18T02:28:27","slug":"dark-chapter-in-ph-media-history-being-closed-now-egco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/01\/17\/dark-chapter-in-ph-media-history-being-closed-now-egco\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark chapter in PH media history \u2018being closed now\u2019: Egco"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
During the launch of the \u201cDuterte Legacy\u201d campaign, Undersecretary Joel Egco said the current administration is upholding its commitment to ensure the security and safety of media workers. (PNA file photo by Avito C. Dalan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 The supposed dark chapter in the history of Philippine media is about to come to an end, as President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s administration is working harder to protect journalists in the country, the executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said on Friday.<\/p>\n

During the launch of the \u201cDuterte Legacy\u201d campaign, Undersecretary Joel Egco said the current administration is upholding its commitment to ensure the security and safety of media workers.<\/p>\n

He made the remarks as he cited the 49 convictions of killers of media workers in the country.<\/p>\n

Some 15 of the 49 convictions were work-related, three were not work-related, and the remaining 31 were in connection with the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, Egco noted.<\/p>\n

He said the figures are a testament to the Duterte government\u2019s \u201csincere, honest, and genuine\u201d resolve to protect human rights and uphold human lives and human dignity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dark chapter in the Philippine media is being closed now,\u201d Egco said. \u201cFrom being one of the most dangerous and one of the deadliest, our country now holds the distinction of being the only country in the world that has convicted this huge number of killers of media workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Philippines has been considered as one of the most dangerous countries for media workers, following the killing of 58 people, including 32 journalists, in Maguindanao province on Nov. 23, 2009.<\/p>\n

Ten years later, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 sentenced Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., Zaldy Ampatuan, and Anwar Ampatuan Sr., the prime suspects behind the mass murder of Filipino journalists, to life imprisonment without parole.<\/p>\n

Media violence \u2018byproduct of hostile, violent geopolitical environment\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Egco acknowledged that Mindanao accounted for the most number of incidents, making it the \u201cmost vulnerable region\u201d for journalists.<\/p>\n

He said media violence in the country is \u201ca direct byproduct of the hostile or violent geopolitical environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three major indicators or contributors to the problem \u2013 dirty politics; corruption and crimes; and vulnerability of the media sector,\u201d Egco said, adding that journalists are also prone to risks due to their \u201cduty, advocacy, and crusade.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the pressing issues plaguing media workers have prompted the Duterte administration to push for the passage of the proposed Media Workers\u2019 Welfare Act that intends to give them equal protection, security, and benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of these vulnerabilities, we forged a memorandum of agreement with ACT-CIS party-list for the enactment of a bill called the Media Workers Welfare Act,\u201d Egco said. \u201cIt is now enrolled as House (of Representatives) Bill (HB) 2746 and it seeks to uplift the living conditions of media workers in the country, as well as uplifting their skill levels to be at par with the international or foreign counterparts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ACT-CIS party-list in July 2019 filed HB 2746 that seeks to address the grievances of media workers by providing them additional benefits and security of tenure.<\/p>\n

HB 2746 or the Proposed Media Workers\u2019 Welfare Act eyes the granting of mandatory additional insurance benefits by the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System, including death and disability benefits, and reimbursement of medical expenses.<\/p>\n

Under the measure, a Commission on Press Freedom and Media Security will be created to serve as media workers\u2019 safeguard from all forms of attacks and as a development center for journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 The supposed dark chapter in the history of Philippine media is about to come to an end, as President …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":176738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242512,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242507\/revisions\/242512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}