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Artemio Dumlao - The Philippine Star
May 2, 2026 | 12:00am
The RSF index report released Thursday paints a grim picture for the region, where 21 of 32 countries are now classified as having a “difficult” or “very serious” press freedom situation. While most governments formally recognize press freedom, the study said “authorities are increasingly weaponizing laws – from terrorism charges to cybersecurity statutes – to intimidate journalists and stifle critical reporting.”
AFP / Jam Sta. Rosa
BAGUIO CITY , Philippines – The criminalization of journalism is tightening across the Asia-Pacific, with the Philippines singled out as among countries where legal tools are increasingly used to silence the press, according to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Sans Frontieres or RSF (Reporters Without Borders).
The RSF index report released Thursday paints a grim picture for the region, where 21 of 32 countries are now classified as having a “difficult” or “very serious” press freedom situation. While most governments formally recognize press freedom, the study said “authorities are increasingly weaponizing laws – from terrorism charges to cybersecurity statutes – to intimidate journalists and stifle critical reporting.”
In the Philippines, ranked 114th, the use of terrorism-related charges has emerged as a key tactic, RSF said, citing the case of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio that had “become emblematic: detained for six years over what press freedom advocates describe as fabricated allegations, she is now considered the country’s longest-held journalist on terrorism-linked charges.” The practice, often tied to “red-tagging,” underscores concerns that national security laws are being used to target media practitioners.
The trend mirrors developments elsewhere in the region, RSF claimed. In India, criminal defamation and national security laws are increasingly deployed against journalists, while in Pakistan, authorities continue to impose sweeping restrictions on media amid political tensions, it pointed out.
Across Southeast Asia, journalists in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand face a barrage of strategic lawsuits, often filed by powerful political or business figures seeking to deter investigative reporting, the index report further said.
More authoritarian states have taken repression even further, RSF said, citing China, the world’s biggest jailer of journalists, which “continues to expand its arsenal of national security laws, a model now echoed in countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar through sweeping cybersecurity legislation.”
In North Korea, independent journalism remains entirely banned, with state propaganda dominating the information landscape, the RSF press freedom index for 2026 claimed.
Despite pockets of resilience in countries like New Zealand and Taiwan, the RSF report warned that democratic safeguards are weakening across the region.
As legal harassment becomes more sophisticated and widespread, the line between regulation and repression is increasingly blurred, raising fresh concerns over the steady erosion of press freedom, including in the Philippines, RSF stressed.
