Marcos to PTFoMS: Level up actions to ensure safety of media people

FILE PHOTO: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says in an ambush interview on Friday, November 1, 2024, that he would talk about the status of his relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte some other time, maintaining his silence about their alliance which now turned sour. Marcos and Duterte were running mates in the 2022 elections. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of PCO

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to ramp up efforts in ensuring the safety of media personnel and practitioners in relation to the upcoming 2025 midterm elections.

In his speech during the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas 50th Top-Level Management conference in Tagaytay City on Thursday, Marcos vowed that his administration remains committed to making the country safe for journalists and media practitioners.

READ: Marcos appoints new PTFoMS chief

“Under the helm of the newly appointed head of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, or PTFoMS, Executive Director Jose Torres, we strengthen our resolve in safeguarding the lives of media personnel and practitioners,” the president said.

“I have directed the PTFoMS, chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Justice, to ramp up and intensify operations in relation to and in preparation for the upcoming 2025 midterm elections,” he added.

In particular, Marcos said he tasked the PTFoMS to focus their efforts on the members of the local media, who are vulnerable to threats against life, liberty, and security.

“It is also an action from our experience that the smaller the constituency that is being fought over by different political candidates, the more heated that debate becomes. It becomes personal at that level. And that is where we have to protect our people and our journalists,” he said.