Early this month, we commemorated World Press Freedom Day by recalling the principles of press freedom as we paid tribute to journalists who lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. According to UNESCO’s World Trend Report 2022-2025, press freedom has experienced the deepest decline since 2012. This decline is comparable to that seen during the most unstable period of the 20th century: the two world wars and the Cold War.

Today, we are witnessing the growth of information manipulation including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by malicious actors. This trend has certainly weakened trust and national security. Too, independent media continue to face growing economic fragility. Self-censorship has grown more than 60 percent, driven by fear of reprisals, online harassment, judicial intimidation, and economic pressure, among others. Freedom of expression around the world had declined by 10 percent since 2012. Civic space has contracted by 48 percent due to increase in efforts to control or restrict media, There is persistent violence against journalists in a context where 85 percent of killings had remained unpunished. This is accompanied by a growing economic fragility of independent media and concentration of over 54 percent of global advertising revenue within digital platforms. There is continuing disruption of information ecosystems driven by AI as 40 percent of users relying on AI to create or modify content has increased self-censorship.

We also recall two important events in the country – the celebration of World Press Freedom Day in Manila in 2002 under the auspices of UNESCO, and implemented by the UNESCO National Commission’s Communication Committee of which I was then the chairperson. It was a challenge which our Commission successfully managed as we were able to invite experts from all over the globe. It was a well-attended event with the UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsura as keynote speaker. It was at that event where the World Press Freedom Index prepared by the Reporters Without Borders (RWB) was introduced.

In 2026, the Index showed a historic decline in press freedom worldwide. For the first time in the Index’s 25-year history, 53.2 percent of countries fell into the “difficult” or “very serious” category compared to just 13.7 percent in 2002. The average global score across 180 countries surveyed had dropped to the lowest level since the index began, reflecting extreme political pressure, authoritarianism, and a weakened media market. The outcome showed deterioration of the legal environment for journalists with 60 percent of countries experiencing a decline due to misuse of national security laws.

In 2012, “Crimes and Unpunishment” was published by UNESCO and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, which I edited together with Crispin C. Maslog and Ramon R. Tuazon. I also prepared the framework for the project and convened several seminar sessions primarily to examine the concept of impunity and its implications not only on press freedom but on all aspects of national life.

At that time, the country was described as the “most dangerous country for journalists.” This notoriety was highlighted by the massacre of 32 media workers along with 27 civilians in Maguindanao. This prompted the International Federation of Expression (IFEX) to designate Nov. 23 as International Day to End Impunity. Six Filipino scholars analyzed the root causes of impunity from the anthropological, psychological, political, political economy, structural-legal, and mass media perspectives. (Email: [email protected])