UN Expert Asks Philippines To Act On Journalists Killing, Abolish Anti-Communism Task Force (image@Irenekhan)

Irene Khan, a United Nations expert, urged Philippines to do more on the issue of killing of journalists and supported abolishing an anti-communism task force whose actions suppress the freedom of expression of activists. Khan is UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion. She spent almost two weeks in the Philippines to assess the state of free speech and media rights.

She called the murder of the journalists as the “most egregious form of censorship”, as quoted by Reuters. She said Philippines remains a dangerous country for journalists.

Citing data provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), she said 81 cases of journalists killing have not been prosecuted or investigated. At least four journalists have been killed since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022.

Out of the 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, Philippines is ranked as 132. Irene Khan also recommended disbanding government task force mandated to end half a century of communist insurgency, saying the possibility of restart of peace talks had made its existence “outdated”. A UN special rapporteur who visited Manila last year had a similar recommendation.

The task force has been accused of “red tagging”, which is the practice of accusing government critics of being rebel sympathisers as a pre-text to silence, arrest, or even kill them. Khan said that the practice suppresses the legal activism and freedom of expression.

The national security council spokesperson of Philippines, Jonathan Malaya told a separate briefing that legal remedies are in place for victims and that the government does not condone the practice. Malaya further added that the task force will “transition to a different body”, given the weakening communists insurgency.

With inputs from Reuters.