Bulatlat at 25: Championing human rights journalism, fighting back against state censorship

In the early 2000s, internet use was not as widespread as it is now but it was a platform waiting to be tapped for truth-telling. 

Back then, the self-censorship inherent in profit-oriented newsrooms made it challenging for people’s organizations to make their issues known. Media owners with other businesses cannot be expected to publish stories detrimental to their own interests. The need to sell news or not to antagonize advertisers also got in the way of delivering news that mattered. 

Stories on labor disputes, for example, almost always aired the side of management, the urban poor facing demolition were often portrayed as “a bunch of lazy citizens taking advantage of government property,” and farmers and Indigenous Peoples defending their land from big corporations was not seen as newsworthy enough.

Such gaps in information and the people’s organizations’ clamor to utilize different platforms to amplify their voices were the very reasons why Bulatlat came into being. Since the beginning, this non-profit newsroom has had a very clear mission: to popularize the people’s struggles and aspirations and to bring issues of the grassroots to the national consciousness, as well as to advocate and contribute to the struggle for social change and the fight against tyranny.

For the past 25 years, Bulatlat editors and staff have taken to heart this mission while adhering to the standards and ethics of journalism. “Journalism for the people” means being with the ordinary people, with our reporters and contributors deliberately assigned to cover sectors (farmers, Indigenous peoples, workers) and relevant topics (human rights, environment, peace talks). 

Our archives indicate our persistence in chronicling stories spanning decades, most of which are painful and difficult struggles for justice. These included the bloody counterinsurgency program of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration., marked by extrajudicial killings of over a thousand activists; the trial against notorious human rights violator Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr.; the long saga of Hacienda Luisita farm workers when Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was president, the victims of Duterte’s war on drugs, the search for desaparecidos, among others. No matter who is in power, Bulatlat has remained independent.

For pursuing this kind of journalism, Bulatlat has been called many names. Under Gloria Arroyo, Bulatlat was included in the military’s powerpoint titled, “Enemies of the State.” Under Duterte and Marcos Jr., we were labeled as “terrorists,” “communist-propagandists.” Our website was subjected to massive distributed denial of service attacks, and then blocked in the Philippines. In 2021, a series of DDOS attacks were traced to the Philippine military. Our editors and staff were red-tagged, others experienced surveillance and other forms of harassment.

That the government has poured in so much resources to take down a non-profit and independent newsroom shows how fearful it is of the truth, that words could sting those in power. It is during these moments too that we realized that we have to keep going.

Admittedly, these attacks affected our operations as the newsroom had to face these head on. In 201921, Bulatlat filed a civil case against two IT companies over DDOS attacks. This resulted in an agreement which compelled the companies to pledge to prevent their infrastructure from being used to attack media outfits. In 2022, Bulatlat challenged the government order blocking our website and 26 others. Again, Bulatlat won this case, with the court declaring the government memorandum as a prior restraint and a violation of our constitutional rights.

Fighting back took time, energy and resources but we have gained more than what we wished for – more allies in defending media freedom and the appreciation and love of our audiences and sources. 

Thus, we look back at 25 years with so much gratitude. Your support means the world to us. 

Twenty-five years is a milestone for Bulatlat, but also proof that journalism rooted in people’s struggles can outlast administrations, overcome censorship, and keep telling the truth.

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