STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OF THE PRESS
On 22 August 2022, at the opening of school classes, reports on shortages in classrooms and chairs particularly that of a public high school in Manila, where students were shown in photos to be sitting on the floor due to shortage of chairs, circulated in social media. Education authorities quickly labeled this as “fake news” and the journalist was subjected to attacks and harassments online for making such report. This report was later confirmed as true and accurate by the president of the faculty and employees association of that same school, who affirmed that there were really not enough chairs for all their students.
The Movement Against Disinformation (MAD) calls out the Department of Education (DepEd), the City of Manila, and all other agencies and officials of government that issued statements discrediting media and citizen reports on shortages in the public education system.
Acts like these are anti-democratic and amount to suppression of the freedom of speech and of the press. These cultivate and reinforce an environment of subservience, where journalists and truth tellers become fearful of retribution from the state and other influential individuals for doing their job.
As the Supreme Court explained, “[A]t the very least, free speech and free press may be identified with the liberty to discuss publicly and truthfully any matter of public interest without censorship and punishment.” Thus, MAD respectfully reminds government agencies and officials that essential to our democracy is an informed public that can have free and open discussions about how things are and how they should change, if needed.
MAD is united with journalists in calling on government “not to resort to efforts discrediting the media and instead use these reports to better assess the situation and take action.” We likewise respectfully urge government to sufficiently fund chairs, desks, and other supplies needed by public schools, starting with the 2023 National Expenditure Program or the proposed budget for next year.
Dialogue, participation, and collaboration are a priori in any strong democracy. Any machination to erode these a priori cannot and must not be countenanced. These are not only anti-democratic but are an affront against the Constitution.
