From time to time, the CCJD and INSI-Asia issue statements on breaking news or events that impact on the news media and journalists especially those working in local communities, on dangerous assignments or in hostile environments. Statements on press freedom, freedom of information and the campaign against impunity are also issued periodically. 

 

Start FOI debate today (Jan. 21), advocates urge Belmonte, Gonzales

21 January 2013

The broad coalition of Freedom of Information (FOI) advocates on Sunday urged Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II to allow the sponsorship and start plenary debates today, Monday, on the FOI bill.

 

Citing the urgency of action on the FOI bill by the House of Representatives, the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition also announced its decision to launch a nine-day “People’s Vigil FOI” to coincide with the next nine session days of Congress beginning today and until Feb. 8, 2013.

FOI Bill: Certify Urgent!

02 December 2012

The Freedom of Information bill (FOI) in the Senate and in the House of Representatives has advanced despite the odds, having passed the respective committees.  FOI is now at a critical juncture, which will determine its passage in this 15th Congress. 

Unity Statement on the third year since Ampatuan Massacre and the second International Day to End Impunity

23 November 2012 

Aquino gov't policies, politics, inaction delay justice for Maguindanao martyrs.

THE FAMILIES of the 58 victims of the Nov. 23, 2009 Ampatuan Massacre are starting to lose hope in the justice system, and the government has only itself to blame.

Non-Passage of the FOI Bill in the 15th Congress is Not Acceptable

05 November 2012

A little over three months ago, Speaker Belmonte uttered these words to summon his colleagues in the House of Representatives to work harder and faster on bills pending in the chamber, not least of them the FOI (Freedom of Information) bill. This clarion call may well be addressed not only to the House, but to the Senate, the Executive, and the public as well. 

CCJD on Freedom of Speech

With the Freedom of Information bill hanging in the balance, the Center for Community Journalism and Development is re-posting the Inquirer editorial of February 9 which essentially captures the predicament of meaningful and substantial legislative measures in a Congress preoccupied with partisan concerns. The CCJD urges colleagues, public interest groups and citizens to intensify efforts to have this bill passed by the 14th Congress.  Work for its passage started in the 11th Congress or period of 12 years. 

Something’s Very Wrong

19 July 2006 |CCJD

Once again press organizations and media associations will be condemning the latest killing of a Filipino journalist.  Once again international press watchdogs will call for a full investigation.  Once again police authorities will create another task force to go after the killers. Once again there will be a lot of angry denunciations.

When Will the Killings Stop?

19 June 2006 |CCJD

The Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD) strongly condemns the killing yesterday inKidapawanCity,North Cotabatoof NGO workers and part-time journalists George and Macel Vigo.

 Their brutal, cold-blooded and senseless killing puts to question the capacity of this government to protect its citizens and only serves to highlight the existence of a culture of impunity that it so assiduously denies.

Invasion of the Sanctity of the Press

4 March 2006 |CCJD

The Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD) is alarmed by the government’s continuing harassment of media organizations and journalists despite the lifting of the state of national emergency last March 3.


The recent attempts of the police to obtain warrants to search the premises of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the closure of the award-winning radio program “Ngayon na Bayan” aired over dzRJ, and the National Bureau of Investigation’s request to   television station ABC 5 to turn over a video tape are chilling manifestations of the state’s abridgement of the fundamental right of the press to freely report.

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Red Cross Award for Humanitarian Reporting 2013 launched

Nominations are now open for the second Red Cross Award for Humanitarian Reporting, a unique competition for the media in the Philippines.

Open to all journalists and photojournalists based in the country, this contest aims to recognize stories and images that provide excellent insight and responsibly depict the consequences of armed conflict and armed violence on civilians. 

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Gatekeepers

28 November 2012 || Manila Standard Today || Adelle Chua

Whether you were in Tagaytay or in Mendiola last weekend, or simply hunched in front of the computer absorbed in your newsroom’s daily grind, you would agree that these are significant times for journalists in the Philippines.


Maguindano massacre in our mind

26 November 2012 || Malaya Business Insight || Ellen Tordesillas 
The 2009 Maguindanao massacre and the sad fact that justice continues to elude the victims were foremost in the minds of the delegates to the National Campus Journalism conference organized by The Spectrum of the University of St La Salle held at Mambukal resort in Negros Occidental.


Media tackle issue of corruption

24 November 2012 || Philippine Daily Inquirer
The news media industry is engaged in a deep and painful self-analysis as it tackles an issue that is not openly talked about—corruption in its ranks.


Speed up massacre trial, court urged

24 November 2012 || The Philippine Star || Aurea Calica

Various groups called on the government to speed up the trial of the Maguindanao massacre case as protest rallies yesterday highlighted the third anniversary of the murders, considered the worst single incident of electoral violence in recent Philippine history and the single deadliest attack on the press ever.