Follow journalists who have moved beyond campus publications, discovering a deeper purpose behind every byline.
Who Defends the Student Press?
Last November 2025, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) signed partnership agreements with various lawyers’ groups. The Freedom For the Press: Legal Aid and Defense for Filipino Journalists at Risk of Lawfare or ‘Project Lawfare’ allows professional journalists to have access to a legal support system and timely responses to harassment, lawsuits, and related threats and attacks.
Gaining legal support was a long and overdue process for professional journalists in the Philippines. Aspiring professionals face an even harder path, as campus journalists continue to operate with minimal or no protection and support, relying on the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, which has not been amended in 35 years and fails to meet their current needs.
The next generation of truthtellers should not be left vulnerable at the very start of their careers. Unlike their professional counterparts, campus journalists have no equivalent of Project Lawfare to turn to when they face harassment, legal threats, or administrative retaliation. When a story costs them something, they are largely left to navigate it alone. While RA 7079 exists on paper, its lack of clear enforcement mechanisms means that student journalists who face censorship or intimidation have little recourse beyond filing complaints that often go unaddressed. Schools, which are supposed to be spaces that nurture young journalists, can sometimes become the very source of the threat. Until the law is updated to reflect the realities campus journalists face today, the gap between professional and student press protection will only continue to widen.
Read more about NUJP’s Project Lawfare at NUJP, lawyers groups ink partnerships for legal defense of journalists
Follow journalists who have moved beyond campus publications, discovering a deeper purpose behind every byline.
Who Defends the Student Press?
Last November 2025, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) signed partnership agreements with various lawyers’ groups. The Freedom For the Press: Legal Aid and Defense for Filipino Journalists at Risk of Lawfare or ‘Project Lawfare’ allows professional journalists to have access to a legal support system and timely responses to harassment, lawsuits, and related threats and attacks.
Gaining legal support was a long and overdue process for professional journalists in the Philippines. Aspiring professionals face an even harder path, as campus journalists continue to operate with minimal or no protection and support, relying on the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, which has not been amended in 35 years and fails to meet their current needs.
The next generation of truthtellers should not be left vulnerable at the very start of their careers. Unlike their professional counterparts, campus journalists have no equivalent of Project Lawfare to turn to when they face harassment, legal threats, or administrative retaliation. When a story costs them something, they are largely left to navigate it alone. While RA 7079 exists on paper, its lack of clear enforcement mechanisms means that student journalists who face censorship or intimidation have little recourse beyond filing complaints that often go unaddressed. Schools, which are supposed to be spaces that nurture young journalists, can sometimes become the very source of the threat. Until the law is updated to reflect the realities campus journalists face today, the gap between professional and student press protection will only continue to widen.
Read more about NUJP’s Project Lawfare at NUJP, lawyers groups ink partnerships for legal defense of journalists
Follow journalists who have moved beyond campus publications, discovering a deeper purpose behind every byline.
Who Defends the Student Press?
Last November 2025, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) signed partnership agreements with various lawyers’ groups. The Freedom For the Press: Legal Aid and Defense for Filipino Journalists at Risk of Lawfare or ‘Project Lawfare’ allows professional journalists to have access to a legal support system and timely responses to harassment, lawsuits, and related threats and attacks.
Gaining legal support was a long and overdue process for professional journalists in the Philippines. Aspiring professionals face an even harder path, as campus journalists continue to operate with minimal or no protection and support, relying on the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, which has not been amended in 35 years and fails to meet their current needs.
The next generation of truthtellers should not be left vulnerable at the very start of their careers. Unlike their professional counterparts, campus journalists have no equivalent of Project Lawfare to turn to when they face harassment, legal threats, or administrative retaliation. When a story costs them something, they are largely left to navigate it alone. While RA 7079 exists on paper, its lack of clear enforcement mechanisms means that student journalists who face censorship or intimidation have little recourse beyond filing complaints that often go unaddressed. Schools, which are supposed to be spaces that nurture young journalists, can sometimes become the very source of the threat. Until the law is updated to reflect the realities campus journalists face today, the gap between professional and student press protection will only continue to widen.
Read more about NUJP’s Project Lawfare at NUJP, lawyers groups ink partnerships for legal defense of journalists