The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reiterated its call for “total protection of journalists” as it joined the annual celebration this second week of February of the National Press Week.

In a statement, the CHR said it reiterated its call due to rising and continuing crimes perpetrated against media workers in the country.

"The Philippines, for four consecutive years, has seen a continuous drop in the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, while a separate report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranks the country as the seventh most dangerous country for journalists," the CHR lamented.

"It is concerning that reporters seeking truth in the stories they cover are harassed, red-tagged, or killed. The continuing intimidation faced by journalists, which serves to silence a free and fair media, is undemocratic and hampers the freedom of the press and every individual’s right to information," it pointed out.

The CHR had lauded the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), through the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police, for its move to deploy "media security vanguards" to address any threats made against journalists during this year’s election period.

It said it is a "welcome development" and a "proactive measure" in ensuring that members of the media are safeguarded as they carry out their duties.

"We hope that in the coming months, investigations being carried out by the PTFoMS yields evidence to hold accountable perpetrators of crimes against journalists," it also said.

National Press Week is observed every second week of February by virtue of Proclamation No. 191 signed on Jan. 9, 1964, by then President Diosdado Macapagal.

Proclamation 191 “enjoins all the people of the Philippines to lend their full support and cooperation in the proper observance of National Press Week to the end that the press shall continue to be free, militant, and fearless in upholding the people’s rights.”