NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — During a courtesy visit to Malacanang, Manila on March 25, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco, Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), met with representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), led by Mohamed Djelid, Director and Representative of UNESCO Office in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss possible cooperation on capacity building projects on human rights.

PTFoMS has played a critical role in guaranteeing media freedom in the Philippines by protecting the lives, liberty, and security of media workers in accordance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Administrative Order No. 1 since its founding in 2016.

Among those in attendance were Undersecretary Severo Catura, Executive Director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, who spoke about the government’s openness and willingness to engage with UNESCO; Police Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba, spokesperson and chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office, discussed the role of Media Security Vanguards in protecting media workers; and lawyer Perry Solis, PTFoMS Chief of Sta. Lucia, who discussed the role of Media Security Vanguards

Djelid praised the presentations, emphasizing that UNESCO’s main focus is on preventing human rights violations in general through capacity-building projects.

He went on to say that UNESCO is here to assist the Philippine government through long-term engagement since they have the tools, resources, and experience to incapacitate stakeholders through education, campaigning, and lobbying.

Egco praised the UNESCO delegate’s request for a partnership and noted that the Philippines is open to any suggestions that will help it improve its ability to deal with human rights challenges.

Dr. Mee Young Choi, the Head of Education at UNESCO Jakarta, and Signe Poulsen, the UN Philippines’ Senior Human Rights Adviser, were present with Djelid.

UNESCO’s Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, which Djelid presently leads, is also the Cluster Office for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste, and the Philippines. It encompasses all of UNESCO’s operations in the Philippines, including education, science, culture, communication, and information.

The parties agreed to meet again to discuss the possibility of UNESCO and the Philippine government collaborating on human rights issues.

The Philippines was mentioned in UNESCO’s recent “World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development Global Report” for the years 2021-2022 as one of the few countries in the world that have implemented “excellent practices and positive measures” to ensure the safety of journalists.

The UNESCO report highlighted the concrete measures taken by the Duterte administration through the PTFoMS, including

*Establishing and implementing stronger protection, prosecution, prevention, and reporting measures to enhance the safety of journalists;

*Implementing national and subnational monitoring mechanisms for the safety of journalists; and

*Improving reporting mechanisms, sensitizing and building the capacity of the law enforcement system, and creating extensive reporting mechanisms.

The development by the Philippine government of “a dedicated task force for the safety of journalists,” according to the UNESCO study, is now being imitated in other regions of the world.

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