"Journalists have reported to unions and colleagues being asked to water down or even pull reports seen as too critical of the Duterte administration which might invite retaliation from the government and its supporters," the report read. The IFJ report added that some Filipino reporters have been receiving hints and suggestions to tone down reports against the administration even before undertaking an assignment. The IFJ identified the situation of media freedom in the Philippines as worsening to seriously declining. Key safety threats of media freedom in the country are cyber-attacks, poor wages and working conditions, censorship and government attack on workplace, according to the report. Data from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines indicate that 185 Filipino journalists have been murdered since 1986.

Source: Philippine Star December 21, 2018 02:39 UTC