The Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), one of the Philippines’ longest-running media watchdogs, will cease operations on September 30, ending its nearly four-decade run.
The centre announced the decision on Friday, citing growing difficulties in securing funding for its operations.
The organisation was founded in 1989 by journalist Melinda Quintos de Jesus, three years after the People Power uprising that ended the Marcos dictatorship.
“We are truly grateful,” De Jesus said in a farewell statement, as reported by The Philippine Star.
The announcement drew expressions of loss from journalists and media organisations that credit CMFR with strengthening press freedom and professional standards in a country still grappling with press freedom concerns.
Beacon of Philippine journalism
For 37 years, CMFR occupied a distinctive role in the Philippine media landscape: defending journalists against threats and interference while scrutinising the press itself.
It documented attacks and killings of journalists, monitored impunity and assessed press freedom, while also challenging news organisations over accuracy, sourcing, fairness, context and other ethical standards.
Its Philippine Journalism Review and later PJR Reports became platforms for media criticism and professional development.
The centre also produced journalism ethics manuals and reporting guides, conducted training and helped establish press councils in the country.
It spearheaded the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism, recognising outstanding journalists in the field of investigative and explanatory reporting.
Journalists lament closure
The organisation’s closure comes as media groups face increasing financial pressures alongside concerns over journalist safety, sustainability and public trust.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said CMFR’s absence would leave “a void” in an industry facing pressure from various interests.
“The loss of a watchdog that watches over the watchdogs is a profound blow to Philippine journalism,” the union wrote in a statement, as reported by GMA News.
“The absence of CMFR’s independent voice will be deeply felt.”
The Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines likewise called the closure a loss to both journalists and the public.
“CMFR’s work made Philippine journalism more accountable, more courageous, and more free,” it said.
Philippines’ struggle for press freedom
CMFR’s closure comes as the country continues to operate in a difficult press-freedom environment.
Reporters Without Borders ranked the Philippines 114th out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, describing the country as having a dynamic media landscape but remaining one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists.
Likewise, CMFR’s own 2026 State of Media Freedom report documented 239 attacks and threats against journalists between July 2022 and April 2026, including 107 cases of intimidation.
It identified red-tagging and online harassment as continuing concerns, while warning that disinformation has also undermined public trust in legitimate news organisations.
“There is an urgent need for stronger institutional and public support for press freedom,” the centre wrote in its May 2026 report.
“Protecting press freedom is a shared responsibility. Without it, the public’s right to know and the foundations of democratic society are at risk,” it added.
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