A Roundtable Discussion on Shrinking Civic Spaces on National Press Freedom Day

Defend NGOs Visayas joined Defend NGOs Eastern Visayas in holding a media briefing last 30 August 2025 in commemoration of National Press Freedom Day. The briefing aimed to unite with the media in Eastern Visayas in responding on the worsening state of civic space, which also adversely impact on media, journalists and curtails their role in delivering news.

Defend NGOs Alliance-Eastern Visayas, together with other non-government organizations (NGOs), held the media forum to raise awareness on the shrinking civic spaces in the region and to call on NGOs to assert their right to these spaces.

Since 1986, the Leyte Center for Development Inc. (LCDe) has stood as a beacon of hope in Leyte and Samar through their delivery of humanitarian assistance, promotion of sustainable livelihoods and pioneering capacity-building efforts. LCDe has empowered communities through disaster preparedness and risk-reduction initiatives, consistently earning recognition from local, national and international institutions—highlighting the indispensable role of NGOs in marginalized communities.

However, despite this recognition, LCDe’s bank accounts remain frozen under orders from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), on fabricated charges of financing terrorism against the organization and its executive director, Ms. Jazmin Jerusalem.

In other parts of Visayas, the Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET) faces the same predicament. Its operations have been severely hampered as it confronts fabricated charges of financing terrorism, directly affecting the community it serves.

Despite assurances of Undersecretary Jose Torres that the Marcos Jr. administration is committed to protecting the media, the ongoing detention of community journalist and human rights defenders Frenchie Mae Cumpio tells a different story. Cumpio, executive director of Eastern Vista and a radio news anchor, has been detained for over five years without conviction, following trumped up allegations of illegal possession of firearms after a raid in their office in February 2020.

Similarly, journalists in Santa Margarita, Samar, were subjected to surveillance and intimidations aimed at deterring critical reporting and undermining the credibility of the 2025 electoral process. Fred Padernos of GMA7 and Radyo Abante-SJTV; Ted Tomas of Radyo Abante-SJTV; Rolly Sumuok of Radyo Abante-SJTV; April Ayaso of News5, Jazmin Bonifacio of Rappler; and Ronie Yanuario of MagikFM Tacloban all reported being videotaped by an intelligence operative while they were on their assignment.

Nationwide, reports by Karapatan reveal the worsening state of civic space under the Marcos Jr. administration: 129 extrajudicial killings; 18 enforced disappearances; 288 illegal arrests; 67,024 incidents of indiscriminate firing; 51,206 bombings; and 45,097 forced evacuations as of June 2025—disproportionately affecting rural and marginalized communities. Moreover, the spate of attacks does not stop there. Development workers, human rights advocates and indigenous people continue to face state-sponsored red tagging, threats, harassment, surveillance and intimidation—despite being among the main actors bringing essential social services to communities.

During the conference, journalists and radio anchors expressed their outrage over the relentless attacks against NGOs. “Instead of helping the people during disasters, there is no accountability until now. Despite efforts of many NGOs to support communities in need, this is what is happening. Nakakasakit ng damdamin,” says Alan Amistoso, Manager and Anchor of Magic FM Tacloban.

Fred Padernos, Vice Chair of the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines-Eastern Visayas (NUJP-EV) and TV Abante Manager, highlighted the contradictions in government policy. “They give LCDe awards on one hand, then persecutes on the other.”

The Defend NGOs Alliance stands in firm solidarity with civil society organizations (CSOs), people’s organizations, and NGOs in pushing back against these attacks and asserting their civic spaces. We demand an immediate halt to the attacks against NGOs and advocates—reaffirming that there can be no genuine development without peace, and no peace without justice. #