Federico Gempesaw Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., shown here at a campaign rally in Quezon City, Philippines, on April 13, 2022, has not displayed overt antagonism toward the media since winning the presidency in May 2022. However, local journalists say he has not yet taken substantive actions to undo the damage wrought to press freedom under the Duterte administration. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality

May 16, 2023 5:30 PM EDT

At a waterfront courthouse in Tacloban City, a long-time hotbed of communist insurgency in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas island region, heavily armed guards were escorting jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to trial. The picturesque setting belied the harsh reality of the April 17 hearing. Cumpio could be put behind bars for life if found guilty…

Radio reporter Federico Gempesaw shot and killed in the Philippines

July 5, 2022 12:08 PM EDT

Bangkok, July 5, 2022 – Philippine authorities must launch a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of radio journalist Federico “Ding” Gempesaw and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On the morning of June 29, two masked assailants shot Gempesaw at close range in front of his…