by Daniel Varias (Isochore)
We dedicate every 3rd of May to celebrate World Press Freedom. As a 36-year-old publication of students who organize to promote the science of genetics, GENEWS finds solace in the freedom it benefits today. GeneSoc’s resident members and alumni continue to exercise their freedom to express the truth through their thoughts on the current events, the sciences, and their social relevance.
However, with the current administration’s aversion to the truth and consequent criticisms, we recognize the threat not only to the publication, but to the country’s collective journalism. With the influx of the government’s red-tagging, silencing, and abuse against journalists, the Philippines ranked 138th on the World Press Freedom Index of 2021—two ranks lower than the previous year. In fact, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) reported a total of 223 attacks against local journalists in 2020.
Thus, we stand firm in defending the freedom of the press and of our expression. Not an inch do we quiver in the face of the threats the regime presents; we will continue to show how relevant genetics and its related fields are to justice, to freedom, and to inclusivity. Every word we publish will persist in amplifying the voices of the underserved. We keep toiling for publishing written pieces which bare what both the scientific community and the masses deserve to know and ponder on.
No matter how low President Duterte downplays the dip in the country’s press freedom rankings, we continue to expose the truth on the status of our press, however hideous it may appear. Our press deserves more than cloying messages which never reflect the current situation of the press in the country. Hence, we demand the administration to cease the censorship, harassment, and culling of journalists. In an age where the spread of disinformation is as detrimental as the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the country needs factual, accessible, and unobstructed information, and we need empowered journalists to achieve it.
The fact that the COVID-19 also poses a threat to press freedom still stands. With the pandemic combined with the government’s poor responses ravishing our country, many news organizations collapsed due to economic losses and laying off journalists. Hence, as we continuously call for a competent pandemic response, we essentially call for press freedom.
May our voices never grow weary in asserting for a country with a government that respects its press as it respects the people it serves.
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