Media groups’ SONA wishlist: Decriminalize libel, pass FOI law, end red tagging

MANILA, Philippines – Ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA), media groups called on him to prioritize decriminalizing libel and enacting a Freedom of Information (FOI) Law.

The conveners of the 1st Philippine Media Safety Summit asked Marcos to keep his promise of supporting a “press that is critical” by including these in his SONA legislative priority.

“The President himself said it in April: ‘The principal role of the press is not to applaud those who govern...