First were the politically motivated state charges that funding provided to the news website Rappler by a U.S. philanthropic foundation represented a violation of constitutional provisions barring foreign control or ownership of Philippine media.
Then came government allegations in April that journalists from independent media groups, including Rappler, the independent media organization VERA Files, and the non-profit Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, were involved in a conspiracy to discredit and oust President Rodrigo Duterte’s elected government. All four outlets issued statements denying the allegation.
Now, a pro-government media campaign claims that the same independent news outlets and the Philippine press freedom group Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility are in the pay of the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a potential criminal offense under local law.
The campaign claims that the CIA uses the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to channel funds. CPJ documented last month how the conspiracy allegations have been advanced through a series of op-eds by the pro-government Manila Times, a century-old English-language newspaper currently owned by businessman Dante Ang, who serves as a public relations adviser to Duterte.
Editors and directors of the targeted news and advocacy groups say they fear the op-eds–and their circulation on social media–could be used by the government to justify a clampdown on foreign-funded media in the name of security. All four outlets receive substantial grants from the NED.
Funded largely by Congress, NED was founded in the early 1980s as a way for the U.S. to openly promote democracy worldwide by providing annual grants to non-governmental groups, according to its website.
Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, said she believes that the pro-government attacks on foreign funding could lead to state charges where the judiciary is asked to rule on what defines foreign ownership of media.