Policing the Lens: Press Freedom Under Threat
During the September 21 Protests
The events that unfolded during the September 21 protests in Manila are more than just a cause for concern—they reflect a deep and dangerous disregard for the very freedoms that authorities are sworn to uphold. Reports and images from the ground reveal not policemen “maintaining peace and order,” but rather forces acting with intimidation and hostility toward those documenting the truth.
Several photojournalists were reportedly ordered by authorities to “stop taking pictures,” with one officer even brandishing his baton toward a photographer while issuing threats. Such actions are starkly at odds with the constitutional guarantees of free press and free expression—rights that are most crucial in moments of civic unrest and public dissent. Instead of ensuring accountability, these acts of obstruction and intimidation cast a chilling effect, sending a message that truth-telling is punishable when it displeases those in power.
Authorities, in their eagerness to “restore order,” appear to have forgotten that the law not only grants them authority but also limits it. Their duty is not to suppress, but to safeguard rights—even, and especially, in times of protest. Yet what has been on display is the opposite: a display of power that prioritizes image over integrity, and control over accountability.
It is unsurprising that such incidents “tarnish the image” of law enforcement. But the greater danger is that these actions betray their sworn role, reducing them from protectors of peace to enforcers of fear. The deployment of tear gas and even the reported use of live ammunition against protesters—dismissively labeled “rioters”—further underscores the peril of unchecked power.
The right to protest, the right to document, and the right to speak freely are not privileges to be granted or withdrawn at the whim of those in uniform. They are fundamental human rights. And when authorities treat the press as enemies and peaceful assembly as a crime, they reveal themselves not as guardians of law and order, but as adversaries of democracy itself and as consolidators of entrenched interests in power.