Editorial
Resisting the State’s intimidation of the Press
The SUNDAY PUNCH joins the Philippine Press Institute in expressing its grave concerns “over attempts to curtail press freedom following President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s declaration of a state of national emergency.”
Below is PPI’s statement.
“A newspaper’s editorial office and printing press were raided for offenses that authorities have not deigned to this day, to make public or explain. Warnings were issued against violations of “standards” that were shrouded in obfuscation and mystery.
“No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of the press,” the Constitution says. Where no law can trespass through the front door, no proclamation, decree, order or directive should intrude via the backdoor in the guise of preserving law and order as well as security.
“The State has trampled on grounds protected by the Constitution and hallowed by tradition. The exercise of emergency powers does not suspend the Bill of Rights. Prior restraint on the press is anathema to a democratic way of life.
“That no newspaper has been closed down and no journalist has been hauled off to jail do not make the assaults on the press any less repugnant.
“The intent was, and is, to intimidate.
“The Philippine press has a long tradition of resistance to tyranny. We refuse to be cowed. The press should not yield an inch of ground.”
In response to the call of the PPI “to expose and to resist any State attempt to limit their exercise of press freedom,” the SUNDAY PUNCH also commits itself “in solidarity with all sectors resisting the creeping return to the dark days of repression.”
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