Imagine a world where truth no longer speaks—no headlines, no reports, no questions, no answers. Just deafening silence.
A world without media, press freedom, or journalists is a world without the freedom to know. Freedom is non-negotiable, it is more than just a lack of restraint; it's the presence of truth—the right to an honest and fulfilling life. At its core, press freedom is the right to speak, inform, and report without fear, serving as society's compass for collective truth and dignity.
For journalists, the ultimate meaning of freedom is to take action, it is about the responsibility to truth, the courage to speak even if it carries risks. But all of this loses its essence when truth itself is oppressed. What happens when telling the truth becomes a threat? Or even worse—when truth is forced to be censored? When did the freedom of telling the truth become so feared that it begins to erode the very foundation of press freedom?
Consider the chilling case of the missing sabungeros—it raises a lot of questions and issues over the Philippines, including truth, justice, and national transparency. If the investigation stalls, especially after A.K.A Totoy's brave accusations against Atong Ang, it shows powerful individuals can suppress heinous acts, threatening press freedom, campus journalism, even the whole society. Emil Sumangil, pursuing this uncomfortable truth, is now facing a surge of threats. Yet, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Justice (DOJ), while tackling disinformation and the case, remain awfully silent on threats hurled at him.
And while Emil Sumangil isn't legally targeted by the national government, the cryptic, extrajudicial threats he faces are emboldened by the government's antagonism and apathy toward the press. This environment gives non-state actors and armed groups the confidence to harass, endanger, and even commit violence against journalists without fear of accountability, fostering an atmosphere where such acts are not just tolerated, but encouraged. What protection is left even for student journalists and campus writers who also speak the truth to power? What future awaits a society where its youngest people—those already fighting for the truth are silenced before they even begin?
The lack of response raises concerns about the state of press freedom, because If prominent personalities like Emil, who work within major networks, cannot be fully protected, what more of students who share the same mission but operate with fewer resources and have little to no safety—both outside and even within campus? These attacks, whether directed at mainstream media or student journalists—reflect a broader failure to uphold the values of a free and protected press. The silence from institutions along with sectors tasked with addressing and safeguarding them, prompts critical questions. If the government, despite its authority and capabilities, does not take concrete action to protect the free press, then the safety of other entities engaged in public discourse is doomed.
From 2022 to 2025, the Center For Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP) documented 184 cases of attacks on media professionals: intimidation, surveillance, cyberattacks, legal harassment, censorship, arrests, death threats, even bombings. Intimidation alone, red-tagging, and digital surveillance, was reported in 85 cases, underscoring an environment of mounting fear and impunity of the nation.
It is a grim injustice that those in power often guilty of the very crimes they are meant to prevent are shielded by authority and armed protection, while those who seek only to know and tell the truth to people are the ones being silenced, figuratively and permanently, left to hang to please the lords of society, these acts are not new. During the dark years of Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., journalists were imprisoned, tortured, and even killed for reporting the truth. Mainstream media was muzzled, campus presses were banned, the whisper of dissent, no matter how radical, was criminalized.
The Maguindanao Massacre under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the deadliest attack on journalists, saw persistent failures in justice. Even praised administrations like Fidel Ramos and Benigno Aquino III weakened press freedom through libel laws, the Cybercrime Prevention Act and neglected reforms such as the Freedom of Information Bill. This shows that press freedom is vulnerable to law, silence, or neglect, not just explicit violence.
Under former President Rodrigo Duterte, now in International Criminal Court (ICC) custody, the press faced overt state hostility, exemplified by his call to "Kill journalism." This fueled state-sponsored harassment, red-tagging, and the shutdown of ABS-CBN. The current president, Marcos Jr. and his administration continues a quieter, yet consistent, campaign against the media through silence and normalized repression, a product of decades of historical revisionism.
In exposing the missing sabungero case, Emil Sumangil embodies the very struggle of the press standing for truth. Does he, and by extension, the truth he seeks, deserve this “silent treatment” by the officials and inaction after the courageous effort? Unless there is consistent and active protection for those who defend the truth, the risk of historical patterns repeating becomes increasingly evident—this time under the appearance of democratic systems and freedoms that were once hard-won.
The responsibility of protecting press freedom does not rest on journalists alone; it also requires public participation and institutional accountability. Critical engagement and collective effort to stand for the truth are needed to protect press freedom. As disinformation spreads, the journalist's role in upholding truth against deceptive trolls and divisive bots is more crucial than ever. This requires questioning narratives, demanding transparency, and supporting ethical journalism.
The purpose of knowledge is to incite action, a key role of a Journalist. Can democracy survive when those who question are threatened, and those who speak the truth are suppressed? What is the point of progress, of redemption, of nationhood itself if it cannot fight for the truth? Everything crumbles when it is no longer the foundation of the words that we speak, the information we consume, and decisions we make as citizens. Press freedom becomes a mere illusion, our very own freedom along with our right to know the truth that is etched on paper and in our mind—is forgotten, buried, and lifeless.
Justice, equity, and human rights must take precedence in democratic countries to preserve people’s sovereignty. Democracy is meaningless when people—whether in the mainstream media or campus journalism, within institutions or at the margins of society, are stripped of their dignity and unable to shape their nation’s future through truth and participation. A democracy that claims to stand for liberty must protect the autonomy of the press, most especially when the press is telling the truth, no matter how unsettling or critical of those in authority.
Those who fail to learn from history are at risk of reliving it, and now is not the time to ignore, repeat and return to those darkest moments of history—but rather rise to confront, challenge, and take action. If journalists are not safe, then no one’s freedom truly is, and to protect the free press is to protect democracy.