MANILA: The Marcos administration is ready to present the ‘vibrant’ status of the Philippine press freedom to United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said Tuesday.
During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon Program aired over state-run PTV-4, PTFoMS executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said the Philippine government, as a ‘good host, would try to make Khan’s visit not only productive but comfortable for all.”
‘Ito pong pagbisita ni Ms. Irene Khan ay gagawin po nating pagkakataon upang mai-highlight po ang katotohanan na ang Pilipinas po ay matibay sa pagtataguyod po ng mga karapatang pantao, lalo na po sa ating pamamahayag (This visit of Ms. Irene Khan, we will make it an opportunity to highlight the fact that the Philippines is strong in promoting human rights, especially [the rights of the] media),’ Gutierrez said.
‘Ang implikasyon po nito sa atin ay maibandera po natin o maibandila sa buong mundo n
a taliwas po sa sinasabi ng mga kritiko, sadya pong masigla at mayabong ang estado po ng pamamahayag sa ating bansa (The implication of this for us is that we can raise our flag to the whole world to prove that contrary to what the critics are saying, the state of the media in our country is indeed vibrant and fertile),’ he added.
Gutierrez said that as early as October last year, the PTFoMs started coordinating with government offices that Khan intends to meet with, including the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Supreme Court and the Congress.
He added Khan’s plan to meet with former Senator Leila de Lima, who secured a temporary freedom in November 2023 after nearly seven years in detention due to her alleged drug involvement, should not be a cause for concern.
‘Tingin po natin ay hindi magiging issue ito and besides, gusto ko pong i-stress na wala pong itinatago ang ating administrasyon pagdating po sa pagtataguyod ng karapatang pantao at pamamahayag sa ati
ng bansa. So, sa tingin po natin ay wala po tayong dapat ikatakot o ikapangamba sa pagbisitang ito (Let’s hope that this will not be an issue and besides, I want to stress that our administration has nothing to hide when it comes to promoting human rights and press freedom in our country. So, we think that we have nothing to fear or worry about this visit),’ he added.
Gutierrez also underscored the Marcos administration’s sincerity to uphold press freedom in the country.
He said the government is ready to discuss with Khan its accomplishments when it comes to ensuring that all Filipinos enjoy their right to free speech and freedom of expression.
‘Bagaman may nakikita po tayong maaring maging kritisismo, ang gusto ko lamang pong bigyan ng emphasis dito ay ang katotohanang meron po tayo functioning judicial system (Although we see something that can be criticized, the only thing I want to emphasize here is the fact that we have a functioning judicial system),’ Gutierrez said.
‘Meron po tayong mga umiiral na
proseso na bagaman may maaari pong kahinaan ay patuloy naman po nating tinutukan at ina-address ang mga kahinaang ito hanggang ika nga po ay maayos po natin ang sistema at proseso (We have existing processes that although there may be weaknesses, we continue to focus and address these weaknesses until we fix the system and the process),” he added.
Khan is set to make an official visit to the Philippines from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2.
Based on the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Khan will examine, in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue, the situation of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the country.
Khan invited civil society, human rights organizations, media organizations, experts and academics, other stakeholders and individuals to share any information in the national normative framework, freedom of the media, internet freedom and freedom of expression.
Source: Philippines News Agency