MEDIA WATCHDOG Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) will close operations on Sept. 30 after 37 years of operations, citing its failure to secure sufficient funding.
As a private, non-stock and non-profit organization, CMFR relied on grants and donations from private entities in the Philippines and internationally.
“Philippine and international funding support has sustained the work of CMFR; but multiple factors have affected the funding environment, making it difficult for CMFR to secure the necessary funds for its operations,” the media watchdog said in a statement released Friday, Sept. 18.
“CMFR would like to thank all who have been part of the journey – our past and present staff, the community of journalists and news organizations in the Philippines and abroad, various embassies in Manila, the schools and students, and civil society organizations – who appreciated and understood the value of our work and supported our efforts.”
Founded in 1989, three years after the end of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship, CMFR aimed to uphold press freedom, promote responsible journalism and encourage journalistic excellence.
The organization monitored attacks against press freedom through alerts and a database of journalist killings, while publishing annual reports on threats and harassment faced by journalists in the country.
CMFR also conferred the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism in promotion of the practice of investigative and explanatory journalism.
The organization’s other programs include media ethics, journalism training, legislative tracking and the selection of grantees for the Marshall McLuhan fellowship for the Canadian embassy and the Sandra Burton Nieman fellowship at Harvard University.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines called the looming closure of CMFR a “profound blow to Philippine journalism.”
“At a time when the press faces mounting pressured from various interests, the absence of CMFR’s independent voice will be deeply felt,” the group said. F
