Canada has expressed concern over threats and risks being faced by journalists in the Philippines as it asserted that mediamen should not fear retribution for just doing their job.
Colin Townson, Chargé d'Affaires of the Canadian Embassy in Manila, reiterated on Thursday Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pronouncement that "a free-thinking, independent and respected media is the cornerstone of any democracy."
"It's for this reason that Canada has continued and will continue to defend press freedom," he added during the virtual Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar organized by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.
Townson made the pronouncement amid violence against Filipino journalists in the country, including the recent killing of hard-hitting radio commentator Percival Mabasa or Percy Lapid.
"We saw this most recently and tragically in the aftermath of the brutal assassination of a popular broadcaster right here in Metro Manila," he said.
Canada, co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, was one of the first countries that expressed concern over the killing by issuing a joint statement with the Netherlands and calling on the government to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Townson said Canada will continue to engage the authorities and maintain constant communication with them to achieve justice for the slain journalist.
Meanwhile, the embassy also named Filipina broadcast journalist Karmina Constantino as 2022 Marshall McLuhan Fellow for Excellence in Journalism.
In presenting the award during the same seminar, Townson cited Constantino's professional qualities as a journalist:
He said Constantino, an anchor for ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), had an "unflinching commitment to speak truth to power, an admirable consistency in ferreting out the most complicated issues of the day, and a stirring courage to ask the toughest questions."
Townson also commended Constantino's "passion for the craft (that) has seen the ebbs and flows of the news industry in the past two and a half decades and whose wise instinct to clarify and challenge statements and assumptions sheds light into issues thereby shielding the public from the prospects of disinformation."