張春炎

Chunyen Chang

民主與新聞自由、有罪不罰、記者遭殺害、菲律賓、家族王朝

killing of journalists, impunity, democracy and freedom of press, Philippines, family dynasty

記者勞動條件及生命安全，向來是重要的研究主題。在臺灣周遭 的民主國家之中，菲律賓記者遭謀殺的案件數量居高不下。作為初探研究，本研究嘗試探索：為何菲律賓記者遭殺害的事件會持續不斷？本研究發現，菲律賓在1986-2019年間，共有165位記者因公遭殺害，其中地方記者佔多數(95.2%)。過去研究指出，記者持續因公遭殺害的現象，與該國存在「有罪不罰」有關。本文進一步指出，菲律賓具有「弱中央民主-強地方威權」的獨特社會結構，使得地方權力者更輕易以殺害記者來迴避新聞問責、延續其家族王朝，如此也強化了菲律賓社會的民主發展困境。

Journalist safety and working conditions are crucial research topics. Among the countries neighboring Taiwan, the Philippines has the most serious problem of journalists being killed. This study explored why Filipino journalists continue to be murdered. We found that, between 1986 and 2019, 165 Filipino journalists were killed while performing their duties; most of these were local journalists (95.2%). This study argues that these killings are enabled by the Filipino political structure of weak central democracy and strong local authority. Such a political structure enables local authorities to easily kill journalists, avoid accountability, and continue their family dynasty. The augment of this article is that, when the murder of local journalists becomes an effective means of silencing the press, the democratic crisis in the Philippines will worsen.