In commemoration of its 10th anniversary, People’s Alternative Media Network (AlterMidya) organized a lecture series celebrating the life and work of its late founding chairperson, Luis V. Teodoro.
The inaugural “Luis V. Teodoro Legacy Lectures” kicked off at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) on Oct. 10, where Teodoro served as dean from 1994 to 2000. The lecture series connected his legacy of being a journalist and activist to the current state of journalism in the Philippines.
Teodoro established Altermidya at the 1st National Conference of Alternative Media in UP CMC, seeking to revolutionize the landscape of Philippine reporting amid continuous attacks on press freedom.
Ranking eight on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2023 Global Impunity Index, the Philippines remains one of the most dangerous nations for journalists. The index is based on unsolved cases of journalist killings between Sept. 2013 to Aug. 2023.
As of last year, there are 20 unsolved murder cases involving Filipino journalists wherein three of them are local broadcasters slain under the current Marcos-Duterte administration.
Related: State of free expression under Marcos Jr. ‘not any better’ – journos, artists
Aside from killings, publications and media personnel continue to face red-tagging, injustices and harassment from the state.
One of these is Tacloban-based community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, the youngest journalist politically detained at 20 years old, who marked her fourth year in prison last February.
Part of Altermidya’s 10th-anniversary commemoration was the continuous campaign to free Cumpio in the name of press freedom and democracy in the Philippines.
Since 2020, various media groups and human rights advocates have been urging the Department of Justice to junk the trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and terrorist financing against Cumpio and human rights defender Mariel Domequil.
For the first time in Cumpio’s four-year legal case, she will take the witness stand in her Nov. 11 hearing at the Tacloban Regional Trial Court.
Likewise, Teodoro was imprisoned for being a critical journalist during Martial Law, where the Philippine media suffered censorship.
Teodoro’s legacy in the academe, community and society
“Luis V. Teodoro led a remarkable life and career whose achievements benefited the journalism community, the academe and the Philippine society as a whole,” said former UP CMC Dean Georgina Encanto, one of the key speakers in the first lecture series.
As a former journalism department chair and program coordinator, Teodoro emphasized journalism training that is centralized on emphasizing information, commentary and analysis for the Filipino people.
Encanto shared that Teodoro has also contributed “valuable inputs” to make the journalism curriculum, specifically in UP CMC, more progressive not just for the public’s benefit but more importantly, for the marginalized sectors.
“The kind of journalism we talked [about] in our curriculum that LVT [Teodoro] gave many valuable inputs is the kind of journalism we wanted to expulse. If students choose to be journalists, they are fulfilling a very crucial role in society,” Encanto added.
Associate professor Diosa Labiste highlighted Teodoro’s brand of “dissident journalism” as the most distinguished legacy to impart to the next generations of journalists.
“The journalism practice by Teodoro: journalists must enact two transformations; the transformation of their consciousness by social practice and the second is the transformation of circumstances,” Labiste said.
The late founding chairperson’s works, columns, and forums discussed how truth-telling and community involvement go hand-in-hand in journalism. In his speech on Teodoro’s legacy, associate professor Danilo Arao emphasized that the Philippines needs journalists who are activists, committed to fight when necessary.
“We fight to remember, we do not remember for mere nostalgia. Journalism is activism because there are periods in history where we need to fight. We need to articulate and use our platforms to amplify change,” he said.
Teodoro worked to drive people to take action as Altermidya—the network he established—vowed to honor his legacy by continuously providing reliable information and involved reporting for the people.
The “Teodoro legacy project” would have three components: conducting a lecture on media education, publishing the materials to be accessible for the public, and implementing intensive research, training and fellowship for alternative media
Altermidya aims to fulfill this project as they continue their advocacy beyond their first decade anniversary.
