By JONAS ALPASAN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Online alternative news Bulatlat held a training on human rights reporting for journalists from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2023 in Quezon City.
Anne Marxze Umil, senior journalist of Bulatlat, who has covered human rights for the past 10 years, said that human rights reporting continues to face challenges in the country but “the need for continuous push for accountability, truth, and justice” also remains.
Bulatlat’s training is part of its project titled, “Advancing Human rights Reporting in the Philippines as a Tool for Upholding Gender Fairness, Democracy and Accountability” through its publisher Alipato Media Center. The six-month project is being supported by the German Embassy Manila.
“Our human rights priorities in the Philippines: women, children, free press and media freedom. These are very close to our heart. It is important to keep in mind that human rights are the core center of our participation,” said Alexander Schmidt – First Secretary for Political Affairs of the German Embassy Manila during the opening program.
Fifteen journalists from both the community and dominant media joined the training workshop.
Esteemed journalists were also invited to discuss the continuing relevance of covering human rights, debunking of neutrality and objectivity in reporting, why human rights are being violated, and covering the justice beat without the legal jargons.
Sessions were also dedicated to discussing the tools and instruments that journalists need to further advance their skills in human rights reporting, particularly on violations of the international humanitarian law, and the mapping of sources for human rights reports.
Journalists were also invited to share their best practices in the field, particularly their experiences in covering former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on illegal drugs”, the atrocities of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, and on migrant rights.
“In the Southern Tagalog region, we see the worsening human rights situation so there is a great need for us to continue reporting, especially in exposing impunity and human rights violations. This training also raised my morale, realizing that there is solidarity in this line of work,” said Jacinto Tolibas, a Laguna-based community journalist.
The training culminated with a discussion on psychological safety for journalists and a yoga session with former journalist Niña Calleja. (RVO) 
