June 30, 2026
MANILA – Three events that happened within a week of each other encapsulated the troubled state of press freedom in the Philippines.
The first came from Reuters Institute’s 2026 Digital News Report, released June 16, which found that trust in news in the Philippines had plummeted to 28 percent this year, from 38 percent in 2025. The second was the June 18 final report of United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan, who warned that freedom of expression was under attack worldwide and pointed to the Philippines as among the nations whose laws are being weaponized against journalists. The third came days later, on June 22, when Capiz broadcaster Jay Lavapiez survived an assassination attempt.
Viewed separately, each development is enough to send alarm bells ringing across newsrooms, but taken together, they offer a terrifying glimpse of the scale of the crisis afflicting the press.
Dominant source of news
The decline in public trust in journalism is often discussed as though it were an inevitable consequence of changing technology, shifting consumer habits or the shortcomings of news organizations themselves. The last one is a bitter pill for the media, because newsrooms make errors, reporters commit ethical lapses, and many outlets fall short of journalistic standards.
But the erosion of confidence in the press cannot be explained by challenges of the digital age nor journalism’s own failings alone.
For years now, journalists have confronted a sustained campaign of disinformation designed not just to promote political interests but to undermine the fourth estate, one of few institutions capable of holding power to account.
The objective is to erase the distinction between journalism and propaganda in the public mind.
In such an environment, falsehoods compete with verified information on equal footing and fabricated narratives travel farther and faster than impartial reporting.
As the Reuters study found, social media has remained the dominant source of news for Filipinos, meaning more people encounter journalism through platform feeds shaped by political messaging and disinformation.
Citizens exposed to a constant stream of attacks against journalists, accusations of bias and outright lies may conclude that nobody is telling the truth. It’s a conclusion that serves only those who benefit from the weakening of public trust in the press.
A climate of fear
Khan’s report places this problem within a broader global context. She warned that those in power are increasingly weaponizing laws to suppress dissent and manipulate information.
“In the Philippines, ‘terrorism financing’ laws have been used against many journalists and human rights defenders, in one case dragging out legal proceedings for five years on dubious evidence while the journalist languished in pretrial detention and eventually received a disproportionately severe punishment,” Khan said, alluding to the case of Tacloban-based journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio.
Khan’s report highlights how attacks on press freedom do not always come in the form of censorship or shutdowns. They also manifest as legal persecution, online harassment or intimidation and Red-tagging that impose enormous costs on journalists.
The effect is a climate of fear, sending the message that critical reporting carries serious, sometimes fatal, consequences.
Community journalists are especially vulnerable. Unlike reporters in major urban centers, they cover private armies, environmental conflicts, and land disputes with less institutional protection and fewer resources.
The assassination attempt against Lavapiez was just the latest in a long string of media attacks across multiple administrations.
Rebuilding trust
As trust declines, journalists become easier targets for vilification and harassment. When journalists are silenced, citizens lose access to verified information. The resulting vacuum is filled by propaganda and falsehoods.
This is not to say the answer is blind faith in the media. Journalists must continue strengthening ethical standards and demonstrating transparency. But rebuilding trust also requires recognizing how that trust was deliberately weakened in the first place.
A society that allows journalists to be smeared, threatened, and attacked should not be surprised when public confidence in journalism declines. More critically, it must not overlook those who profit from that decline.
The government’s campaign against disinformation has shown some results, with cases lodged against “fake news” purveyors. But such efforts are evidently not enough to deter attacks, both online and in real life, as Lavapiez’ case shows.
Press freedom and public trust are inseparable. One cannot flourish without the other. Protecting journalists is therefore not merely a matter of safeguarding a profession but defending the public’s right to know. When trust is destroyed–on purpose–the first casualties are journalists, but the ultimate victim is the public.