PH retains ranking as 7th deadliest country for journalists in global index

Philippine journalists distribute hats with “stop killing journalists” at a rally on February 23, 2007. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines remains to be one of the worst countries when it comes to unsolved killings of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index.

The Philippines ranked 7th in the list of the New York City-based media watchdog, with 13 unresolved killings in the last 10 years. It retained its position from a year earlier.

Somalia remained the world’s worst country for unsolved killings, along with Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan, based on the latest data, which covers the period September 1, 2011, to August 31, 2021.

A total of 278 journalists were killed in this period, with no one convicted in 226 or 81 percent of these cases.

The CPJ said however that the data does not fully reflect the increased danger facing journalists in Afghanistan, which placed 5th, as it had in previous two years.

“While the country’s spot on the index did not change, the situation in the ground for reporters deteriorated dramatically in 2021 as the Taliban took control in mid-August amid the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces and the flight of President Ashraf Ghani,” it said.

EDV