The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) just dropped a bombshell of a report: for the first time in two decades, not a single Filipino journalist was killed in 2024.

That’s right — zero, nada, zilch. A miracle? A clerical error? Or could it be that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is a bit softer on the press than his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who treated journalists with the same affection one reserves for a mosquito buzzing near the ear?

Before we break out the champagne (or at least a decent bottle of Red Horse), let’s not get too carried away. The CPJ report, released on 12 February, still lists the Philippines as one of six countries where being a journalist is roughly as safe as being a raw chicken in a fox den.

That means that while no one got the bullet treatment last year, the country remains a perilous playground for truth-tellers. Perhaps Filipino journalists have just gotten better at ducking.

Let’s consider the possibility that Marcos Jr. is indeed less bloodthirsty toward the media than Duterte. So far, he hasn’t threatened to throw journalists into Manila Bay, labeled them as terrorists, or told them to “go to hell.”

A relatively mild approach, sure, but let’s not confuse “not threatening” with “protecting.” A president who doesn’t go out of his way to intimidate journalists is like a restaurant that doesn’t poison its customers — it’s the bare minimum, but we’ll take it.

Marcos does have a more refined approach to media management. Instead of outright hostility, his administration prefers a subtler strategy: drown the public in carefully curated narratives, flood the information space with propaganda, and let paid trolls do the dirty work.

Unlike Duterte, who relished combat with the press like an action movie villain, Marcos simply sidesteps conflict and lets time, distractions, and disinformation do the silencing. Efficiency at its finest.

If no journalists were killed, does that mean press freedom is thriving? Not necessarily. One explanation could be that journalists have learned to adapt — whether by self-censoring, treading more cautiously, or conveniently “losing” their investigative files. After all, what’s the point of a hard-hitting exposé if it gets you an unplanned meeting with St. Peter?

Another possibility is that the people who used to take offense over critical reporting —mayors, congressmen, drug lords, military officers—have discovered less messy ways to neutralize journalists. Lawsuits, cyberattacks, and the ever-popular disinformation campaigns work just as well as bullets, and they don’t create martyrs.

Let’s not pretend the Philippines has suddenly become a paradise for press freedom. We might not have had a journalist murdered in 2024, but the threats, harassment, and red-tagging continue. The media climate remains like a tropical storm — calm for a moment before the next squall hits.

So, should we be celebrating? Maybe cautiously. The fact that no journalist was killed last year is a rare and welcome development, but let’s hold off on the victory lap.

Until journalists can report without fear of retaliation, arrest, or online harassment, “not getting killed” is just a low bar, not a real win. Still, in a country where the press is often under siege, a year without assassinations is about as close to good news as we can get.

Cheers to small mercies!

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