2021 National Human Rights Situation Report 17 73 Human rights lawyer Atty. Chel Diokno likewise said that the SALN is a public document and that instead of going after corrupt officials, the Ombudsman wants to penalize Filipinos for seeking transparency. Diokno also said “The Ombudsman’s mandate is to aid in giving more teeth to the campaign against corruption, not defang existing laws against it.”56 74 A new law for the granting of the franchise for media network ABS-CBN has not been filed under the present Congress of the Philippines. 75 On 10 December 2020, Lady Ann Salem, a journalist from Manila Today and a member of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), was arrested in her home in Mandaluyong. She was arrested in the operations conducted by the Philippine National Police.57 76 The Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 209 dismissed the case against Lady Ann Salem on 05 February 2021. Presiding Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio decided on 05 March 2021 to order the release of Salem after finding the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration “bereft of merit.”58 77 According to a Rappler report last 22 April 2021, the Philippines is now ranked 138th out of 180 nations in the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index for 2021. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Philippines has dropped in ranking. 78 RSF cited that after President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration targeted the Philippine Daily Inquirer, they embarked on a grotesque judicial harassment campaign against Rappler and its CEO Maria Ressa. The Philippine Congress, majority of which supports the President, denied the renewal of the country’s largest broadcasting network ABS-CBN, depriving millions of Filipinos of essential public interest reporting during the pandemic. 79 “The persecution of the media has been accompanied by online harassment campaigns orchestrated by pro-Duterte troll armies, which also launched cyber-attacks on alternative news websites and the site of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, in order to block them. “Red-tagging” also returned in force in 2020,” RSF said.59 The RSF classified the Philippines as having a “bad” environment for journalism.60 80 CHR Spokesperson Atty Jacqueline Ann de Guia said on 22 April 2021 that the RSF report “sends a firm message that the current political climate exacerbates the danger and fears over the erosion of democratic and press freedom during these uncertain times.” The CHR urged the government to provide legal protection to journalists as they perform their duties and to hasten the investigation of media-related killings and attacks. The CHR said it has repeatedly raised concerns on the wave of persecutions directed towards journalists and media institutions, as a recurring theme in the current administration’s actions and pronouncements. The CHR also expressed alarm over the Cybercrime Prevention Law 56 ABS-CBN News. (2021). Senate bets flag Ombudsman-led push to ‘defang’ SALN law. Retrieved from https://news. abs-cbn.com/news/10/22/21/senate-bets-flag-ombudsman-led-push-to-defang-saln-law 57 Lalu, G. (2020). Journo Lady Ann Salem from red-tagged site arrested on Human Rights Day. Retrieved from https:// newsinfo.inquirer.net/1370345/journo-from-red-tagged-site-arrested-nujp-other-orgs-confirm#ixzz7AaNceWmC 58 Gregorio, X. (2021). Court orders release of journalist a month after case junked. Retrieved from https://www.philstar. com/headlines/2021/03/05/2082210/court-orders-release-journalist-month-after-case-junked 59 Elemia, C. (2021). PH slips further in World Press Freedom index. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/ philippines-rankings-world-press-freedom-index-2021 60 Mangosing, F. (2021). CHR: PH facing ‘a worse state of press freedom’. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1422295/chr-ph-facing-a-worse-state-of-press-freedom#ixzz7AZ6agjz2