National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) marks this year’s World Press Freedom Day with a commitment to continue pushing back against attacks on media freedom.

Under the Marcos Jr. administration, the NUJP recorded 242 incidents of violations to media freedom. Of the total number of attacks, 43 percent were perpetrated by government and state security forces.

Ten journalists have been slain. Although two of these killings have been declared as non-work related by the police, the fact remains that the state has failed to protect journalists and media workers. Perpetrators have not been brought to justice.

In the case of community journalist RJ Ledesma, the Philippine military lied through its teeth claiming that our colleague was a combatant in an attempt to justify the murder.

Another community journalist, Frenchie Mae Cumpio, remains behind bars over trumped-up charges of financing terrorism. Like RJ, Frenchie was also repeatedly red-tagged before she was arrested and detained.

Red-tagging of journalists has persisted, with 39 incidents recorded since June 2016. The Marcos Jr. administration has refused to abolish the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which is notorious for red-tagging, despite calls from two UN independent experts and from local and international human rights groups. The Marcos Jr administration has also chosen to ignore the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling which declares red-tagging as a threat to life, liberty and security.

In other parts of the country, libel and the Data Privacy Act have been the weapons of choice by the powers that be. A woman broadcaster based in Roxas City and another woman journalist in Cagayan de Oro found themselves slapped with cyber libel, with the latter also charged with violations of Data Privacy Act.

In some instances, politicians threatened colleagues with charges of libel and Data Privacy Act, often as a warning against pursuing controversial stories.

Other forms of harassment include surveillance, physical and verbal attacks.

Denial of access to information, cyber attacks in various forms as well as online harassment have continued.

The recommendations from UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan have largely fallen on deaf ears. The Philippine government has failed or refused to do the following:

Undertake drastic measures to stop media killings and bring perpetrators to justice;

Decriminalize libel;

Put an end to red-tagging;

Enact Freedom of Information Law

The climate of impunity remains and so, no amount of safety measures would be enough to protect ourselves from harm.

The attacks do not happen in a vacuum. Those in power want the truth to be hidden, obfuscated or distorted for their selfish interests. Journalists resist repression so that we can continue our mission of telling the truth so that the public will be empowered to take action.

We call on the public to stand with us in defending media freedom and democracy.

ALTERMIDYA

Altermidya commemorates World Press Freedom Day amid grief and outrage. We condemn the killing and demand justice for our colleague, community journalist RJ Ledesma, and the rest of Negros 19. We also call for the freedom of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, as well as Marielle Domequil, who remain unjustly imprisoned on baseless charges.

The cases of RJ and Frenchie reflect the harsh reality of press freedom in the Philippines: it continues to be under grave threat, primarily from state forces that regard truth-telling as a crime and critical journalism as an enemy.

Altermidya also stands in solidarity with journalists and media workers across the world who continue to risk their lives in the pursuit of truth and accountability. Worldwide, press freedom is a daily struggle fought by those who expose injustice, hold power to account, and amplify the voices of the marginalized and oppressed. Journalism, especially in places such as Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and even the Philippines, remains among the deadliest professions, where truth-telling can still cost lives, liberty, and safety.

In the Philippines, we journalists continue to face killings, harassment, surveillance, red-tagging, imprisonment, and various forms of intimidation – highlighting the country’s persistent climate of impunity. Despite repeated government promises of protection and justice for journalists, these attacks persist and create an environment where fear and censorship are used as weapons to silence critical reporting.

RJ and Frenchie represent Philippine journalism’s best and brightest. They have exemplified our community journalists’ deepest commitment to truth-telling, public service, and solidarity with the poor and oppressed among our people. It is exactly because they challenge power, question injustice, and refuse silence that they are being attacked. Their experiences reveal how journalism, especially when it sides with the people, is viewed as a threat by those who benefit from repression and disinformation.

The impact of press freedom violations goes far beyond individual journalists like RJ and Frenchie. When journalists are silenced, it is not only their voices that are attacked. The public’s right to know is directly undermined. Every killing, every wrongful imprisonment, every act of harassment sends a chilling message meant to spread fear and normalize censorship and disinformation. It weakens democracy and deprives communities of the information they need to make informed decisions, assert their rights, and take action.

On this World Press Freedom Day, we call for an end to attacks against journalists and media workers. We demand justice for RJ Ledesma and all slain journalists, the immediate release of Frenchie Mae Cumpio and all those unjustly imprisoned for their work and advocacies, and full accountability for perpetrators of press freedom violations. We call on the Marcos Jr. administration to end the criminalization of journalism, stop red-tagging and political persecution, and uphold press freedom as a cornerstone of democracy.

Defending press freedom means defending the people’s right to truth. In a time of deepening repression and disinformation, the struggle for a free press remains inseparable from the broader struggle for justice, accountability, and genuine democracy.

The incident stemmed from a road-clearing operation along Marfori Street in Barangay 5-A that escalated into a physical confrontation. 

Police said the Davao City local government’s Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) were clearing vendors allegedly occupying spaces outside designated vending zones but ended up clashing with them when they started confiscating their goods.

Videos circulating online showed the scuffle between the vendors and ASU.  A woman vendor was punched unconscious by a member of the ASU, who later sustained a head wound from another vendor.

ASU head Paul Bermejo said those involved in the incident are being investigated by the police, including members of the Vendor Regulation Unit.

The injured vendors and ASU personnel were all taken for treatment.

KMU condemned the demolition of vendors as “inhumane”, noting that the demolition team’s actions show a pattern of governance that “has no empathy for the poor.”

“The conduct of the demolition team reflects a form of city governance that is harsh and lacks empathy for the poor. Vendors pay market fees every day but are not given proper stalls or spaces — and instead, their livelihoods are being taken away,” KMU Southern Mindanao spokesperson Jeffry Uypala said.

“The vendors of Bankerohan are not criminals. They are working men and women… earning an honest living to feed their families,” he said, noting that vendors regularly pay market fees but allegedly lack permanent and designated vending spaces.

The group called on the Davao City government to halt demolition operations without prior consultation and relocation, and to provide compensation to affected vendors.

The operation to clear the streets of vendors is part of the city’s broader public order campaign under D.A.V.A.O. — Discipline, Action, Virtue, Accountability, and Order. 

City officials said Bankerohan has long been a focus of this enforcement due to sidewalk obstruction, traffic congestion, and unauthorized vending in one of the city’s busiest commercial areas.

They noted that vendors had previously been relocated to designated spaces, but some returned to sidewalks and roadside areas, prompting repeated clearing operations.(davaotoday.com)

To understand why Alyssa Alano, RJ Ledesma, and their companions were there, one must first look at the “sorry state” of the people they sought to serve.

In the vast haciendas and the quiet hinterlands, there is a systemic silence. It is a world where hunger is a constant neighbor and where the promise of land and dignity remains a distant mirage for the masses. This is not a matter of political theory; it is the raw, lived reality of families who have known nothing but generational poverty.

The Mission: A Pathway to Grassroots Justice

The mission that claimed their lives was not an act of subversion, but a pathway to grassroots justice. In an era of polished propaganda and manufactured narratives, these individuals sought the only thing that cannot be faked: the primary account.

A research mission is an exercise in listening. It is about documenting the stories that the headlines ignore. They weren’t there to spread an agenda; they were there to verify the truth of the marginalized. For the people of Negros, having someone simply show up to document their struggle is, in itself, a profound act of justice.

Moral Agency vs. The “Deception” Narrative

There are those who will inevitably claim these young lives were “deceived” by ideology. This narrative is a second murder—an attempt to strip them of their intellect and their choice.

You do not need a complex ideology to recognize when a child is malnourished or when a farmer is being exploited. You only need compassion. Alyssa, RJ, and their colleagues were not victims of manipulation; they were practitioners of compassionate intelligence.

They were not “deceived”: They exercised their moral agency.

They were not “brainwashed”: They were thinkers who chose to use their skills for the common good.

They were not “arrogant”: Their intelligence was rooted in humility and a desire to see the world as it truly is, not as it is marketed.

Armed Only with Skills

The most tragic proof of their intent lies in what they carried. They were not trained for armed encounters, nor were they looking for them. They were professionals—people with jobs, families, and futures—who chose to spend their time in the service of others.

They were armed not with weapons, but with research skills. They carried notebooks, pens, and the heavy weight of empathy. To suggest they were anything other than peaceful observers is to ignore the reality of who they were: daughters, sons, and dedicated citizens who believed that the truth is worth finding.

A Call to Action: Refuse the Silence

To murder someone is a crime; to then assassinate their character to justify their death is an atrocity. We must refuse to let the “deception” narrative take root.

What can we do?

1. Demand Accountability: We must continue to ask for transparent investigations into the killings of fact-finders and human rights defenders.
2.  Support Fact-Finding: Recognize that research and documentation are essential tools for peace. Support organizations that provide a voice to the voiceless.
3.  Honor Their Agency: Speak their names. Share their stories not as “misled youth,” but as brave intellectuals who died while seeking a more just society.

Let us not allow them to be murdered twice. Let the truth of their mission—and the compassion that drove it—be the final word.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed that all 19 are members of the New People’s Army (NPA), but this is challenged by rights groups and journalists.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) have identified all 19 victims in a statement on April 27, which claimed 10 as members of the NPA including its Negros Commander Roger Fabillar  aka Ka Tapang, and the rest as civilians.  This has enforced calls for an independent investigation to determine the circumstances of their deaths.

The nine included student council leader Alyssa Alano, age 22, from the University of the Philippines Diliman; community journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma, 30, from Pahimutad Negros; Maureen Keil Santuyo, 24, of the National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates Youth (NNARA-Youth); Errol Wendel, also 24, of the Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA); Filipino-American Lyle Prijoles, 40, from San Francisco, a council member of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, and Kai Sorem, 26, from, Washington, USA, a founding officer of Anakbayan Seattle. 

Initial statements from the AFP claimed that they engaged the NPAs in a 12-hour firefight that started at 4 am on April 19.  But journalists noted the lack of details on the incident.

There were inconsistencies on the number of firearms reportedly seized by the soldiers, from an initial seven, it “later expanding to 9 and 20” according to Kodao Productions.

Journalist Dana Batnag writing for RightsReport raises questions on the AFP’s narrative that there was a 12-hour long “series of clashes” that stretched three kilometers from  Sitio Sinugmawn to Sitio Plaringding where the bodies were recovered.

“A 12-hour running gunfight should leave plenty of evidence: spent casings, trampled paths, bloodstains, bullet holes in trees or structures. These should have been documented by now, but there are no reports of any independent investigator having returned to the encounter area. What proof exists that the guns recovered were actually fired?” Batnag asked.  <https://rightsreport.org/2026/04/26/toboso-questions/>

She also raised the question on how residents in Sitio Salamanca evacuated.  “Did they leave on their own, as sometimes happens when fighting breaks out, or were they guided out? Did the military clear the area when the clashes started? That question matters because, if so, the AFP’s logic seems to be: the casualties must be rebels, because soldiers had already cleared out the civilians.”

RightsReport also raises issue on the deaths of two minors, age 15 and 17, as they point out that their presence in the military operations show the lack of discrimination on the military’s side.

“It points, powerfully, to the civilian character of the location itself. Communities where families live, where children are present at 4 in the morning because it is their home, are not military objectives” it wrote. 

<https://rightsreport.org/2026/04/28/toboso-npa/>

Their deaths, the group added, run counter to international laws (ICRC Customary IHL Rule 135 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) which the country upholds protecting children caught in armed conflict.

Human rights and farmers groups gave out details on why the victims were in the area, an issue that is hugely debated online that is believed to be set by influence groups.

Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN), in its account of the incident, said Ledesma was not at the site of the initial clash but was shot in Plarinding during the military pursuit operation.

Santuyo and Wendel’s organizations said the two were  working with farmers in Negros who oppose the oil palm plantations in Candoni and quarrying in their areas.

“The military’s framing of the incident as a conventional clash serves to obscure the reality on the ground and evade accountability,” said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, which condemned the murders and the military operations that have displaced over 600 people.

Karapatan scored the continuing reports of harassment, surveillance and red-tagging in Toboso.

The Commission on Human Rights Negros has said it is conducting its probe on the incident following the statements of various groups. 

But National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers President Ephraim Cortez doubts if this probe at this time could shed light.

“The AFP has cordoned off the area. Only army personnel, and some paid trolls like Noel Legaspi, and a spurious group of self-confessed rebel returnees, who are actually military assets bankrolled by the AFP, were allowed access to the area. It is evident that the crime scene was not preserved. It was sanitized to dispose of any damning evidence and erase any trace of the atrocities committed during the operation. They had more than a week to do so,” Cortez said in a post over social media.

But NUPL said there are still ways to find answers to what happened at Toboso, such as an autopsy of the bodies,

“…it failed to consider one crucial detail, the remains of the dead victims as silent witnesses that will haunt them and expose their atrocities. Dead men do tell tales.”

Such actions could lead to further probe and question the conduct of the military operation that has extinguished the lives of farmers and six people who visited the area in Negros.(davaotoday.com)