President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured that the government will continue its commitment to protecting the welfare and upholding the freedom of every Filipino journalist in the country while calling for responsible journalism.
“Sama-sama tayong titindig sa katotohanan. In this fight, we are the lighthouse keepers in the storm; that light that we keep must stay steady, even as the winds blow,” Marcos said in his speech during the 50th Anniversary of the Publishers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PAPI) on Friday.
He discussed the government's Media and Information Literacy Campaign, designed to provide the public, particularly the youth, with the skills needed to critically assess the information they encounter and to aid in the fight against misinformation and disinformation.
The President urged journalists to remember the sacrifices of those who lost their lives in the relentless pursuit of truth, citing Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa, Juan “DJ Johnny Walker” Jumalon, and Cresenciano Bundoquin.
According to Marcos, the individuals mentioned did not merely become names in a report; they are faces with families, colleagues, and communities who mourn their loss.
He stated that all efforts to bring these individuals justice are a testament to the belief that no story, no matter how dangerous, is too small or insignificant to be told.
“Together, let us foster responsible journalism for we know that more than a democratic ideal; it is a necessity for an informed and an empowered citizenry to make the proper, intelligent, well-informed decisions about their leaders, about their situations, about their condition,” said Marcos.
