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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
May 2, 2025 | 6:11pm
A photojournalist works at a press office, on the World Press Freedom Day, in Manila on May 3, 2023.
AFP / Jam Sta Rosa
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has reached its highest press freedom ranking in over two decades, even as newsrooms continue to operate under financial constraints categorized as "very serious" — the worst classification in the World Press Freedom Index.
This year's index by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — released on Friday, May 2 — shows that while the Philippines slightly improved across all press freedom indicators, its economic score still places it among the majority of countries in the world where journalism faces “difficult” or “very serious” conditions.
The Philippines rose from 134th to 116th in the press freedom index, with its overall score improving to 49.57 from 43.36 last year. However, its political and economic scores remain around 39, placing the country in RSF’s “very serious” category for both indicators.
The overall score of 49.57 means that the practice of journalism remains generally "difficult" in the Philippines.
RSF's classification system ranks countries' press freedom situation as "good" (85-100 points), "satisfactory" (70-85 points), "problematic" (55-70 points), "difficult" (40-55 points), or "very serious" (0-40 points).
Why the economic score matters. According to RSF, economic fragility has emerged as "one of the foremost threats to press freedom" globally.
The organization found that while overall conditions for practicing journalism are poor in half of the world's countries, this figure rises to three-quarters when looking specifically at economic conditions.
"The economic indicator on the RSF World Press Freedom Index now stands at an unprecedented, critical low as its decline continued in 2025," it said in its global analysis. "As a result, the global state of press freedom is now classified as a 'difficult situation' for the first time in the history of the Index."
Philippine media's economic score slightly improved by two points compared to last year. This puts it in the minority in the Asia-Pacific region, where 20 of the region's 32 countries and territories saw declines in their economic indicators, according to the latest press freedom index.
Globally, media outlets "achieve financial stability 'with difficulty' — or 'not at all'" in at least 160 out of the 180 countries assessed, according to RSF.
A specific analysis of the Philippine situation in the past year was not immediately available. However, RSF's profile for the Philippines' media landscape notes that mainstream media ownership has "recently reached even greater levels of concentration than in the past."
Consolidation at top media companies. On the same day as the release of the World Press Freedom Index, the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) announced that the publication of its newspaper would be handed over to its sister company, Inquirer Interactive Inc. starting July 1.
In its statement, PDI's Board of Directors said it will ensure all affected employees will receive the separation benefits due to them as the company "winds up its operations."
In January 2024, CNN Philippines shut down due to heavy financial losses, leaving around 300 people jobless. In October, ABS-CBN also laid off 100 employees because of low ad revenues and industry challenges
The Commission on Human Rights called attention to the economic challenges faced by the media in November when it urged companies to provide greater transparency about layoff decisions.
For independent online media offering alternative spaces for journalism, RSF noted their "economic viability is uncertain."
