BY REGINA BENGCO

THE international group Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) has tagged presidential spouse Jose Miguel Arroyo as the "new enemy" of the Philippine press for the series of libel suits he has filed against journalists.

The new moniker of Arroyo was contained in the organization’s survey on the status of press freedom in 98 countries in 2006. The report was posted in its website www.rsf.org.

RSF found it ironic that Arroyo lodged 43 libel complaints against journalists while his wife, President Arroyo, claimed that her government was "respectful of press freedom, an institution of Philippine democracy."

It said at least six journalists were killed in the Philippines in 2006 and that "murders, assaults, arrests, abusive lawsuits and censorship were the hallmark of 2006 in this country."

There were at least 25 murder attempts and assaults and 10 arrests during 2006.

RSF said the Arroyo administration "has been widely criticized for its inability to act against the murderers of opposition and human rights activists," with some politically committed journalists ending up as victims of political violence.

It said police and the courts have chalked up some successes in their struggle against the murderers of journalists, as shown by the sentencing to life imprisonment of four men found guilty of murdering Marlene Esperrat in March 2005.

"But collusion inside the justice system allowed those who ordered the killing to escape court for the time being," it said.

It said "censorship also bit deeper" in 2006 because local politicians sought to silence opposition media.

It noted that the mayor of Valencia City ordered the closure of radio dxVR in March 2006 because some of the media persons in the station were close to his political opponents.

RSF said the worst violations were noted in repressive countries such as North Korea, Eritrea, Cuba and Turkmenistan.

"A disturbingly record number of journalists and media workers were killed or thrown in prison around the world in 2006 and we are already concerned about 2007, as six journalists and four media assistants have been killed in January alone," the report’s introduction said.

It also expressed alarm over the "alarming lack of interest (and sometimes even failure) by democratic countries in defending the values they are supposed to incarnate."

"Almost everyone believes in human rights these days but amid the silences and behavior on all sides, we wonder who now has the necessary moral authority to make a principled stand in favor of these freedoms," it said.

It noted an "alarming" peaking of press freedom violations in Asia in 2006, with 16 media workers killed, at least 328 arrested, 517 physically attacked or threatened and 478 media outlets censored.

"Censorship is very widespread and complete freedom to speak and write is rare in Asia," it said.

"Dictatorships also seem to be tightening their grip on the Internet and at least 60 people are in prison for posting criticism of the government online. China, the leading offender, is being copied by Vietnam, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Iran and more and more bloggers and cyber-dissidents are in jail," it added.

RSF said Asians now have access to more independent and better quality news although a score of military or communist dictatorships view the media simply as channels for relaying propaganda. "Censorship remains a very widespread phenomenon in Asia," it observed.

It cited the cases of journalists in Bangladesh, who suffer constant assaults and death threats for exposing nepotism and corruption among local politicians. It said China’s propaganda department regularly removes editorial chiefs in an attempt to curb their desire for independence.

RSF noted that local politicians, not war, are responsible for the deaths of journalists in Asia, as evidenced in the Philippines, India, China and Indonesia.

In Sri Lanka, media persons were among the thousands of civilians who fell victim to the war between the government and the Tamil Tigers.

Bright spots on press freedom in Asia include the development of privately owned television channels that bring news free from government control in Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and India. However, some governments resist, such as Maldives, which has failed to honor a promise to open up the electronic media sector before the end of the year, and Burma, where the army bans people from watching an independent TV station that is broadcast by satellite from Norway.