On National Campus Press Freedom Day, RA 7079 remains timid

Kyla Edquilane and Yahya Ibrahim Yusop

In a country where ink has long bled truth into the crevices of silence, one might expect the young bearers of the pen to stand shielded by law. But what happens when the parchment promises freedom, yet the ink dries under invisible chains? 

In 1991, years after the country emerged from the shadows of the darkest era for press freedom — Martial Law, an act was born to guard a new generation of democratic defenders: the campus journalists.

Republic Act No. 7079, otherwise known as the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, was enacted as a declaration of the State’s commitment to uphold freedom of expression even within the confines of educational institutions. With the intent to fortify and dignify campus journalism, the law outlines the structure, rights, and responsibilities of student publications across elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels. 

RA 7079 envisioned a press culture where young journalists could report with courage and clarity, supported by the pledge of legal safeguards and institutional backing. Yet, amid escalating battles within the press arena, a question hangs like a sword mid-swing: has this legal shield kept its promise — or has time blunted its edge?

When the ink wins 

Behind the empowerment of campus journalism is the power of its recognition among student journalists. Through RA 7079, opportunities spark all over the journalistic desires and developments — training, press conferences, and platforms that lead campus journalism to its highest podium of power. 

In virtue of the Act, what even sparks the might for journalism and for the truth goes into the literacy and legitimation, which aim to promote the essence within and beyond. The declaration of the said law describes the milestone of press freedom and responsible journalism to ‘strengthen ethical values, critical, and creative thinking, and develop moral character and personal discipline’ in the practice. 

Given this, the words and sketches being poured into the journalistic works urge more campus journalists to explore journalism and love this field as years go by. From producing winners from hierarchical schools’ press conferences, volunteering and rendering service in journalism organizations, and committing to its mantra, the ink continues to prove itself mightier than ever — truly, unleashing the power of it all over the senses among campus journalists. 

What does it take?

Still and all, these so-called developments do not hammer on where it is needed most — against the forces directed to crush press freedom. Here, when protection is promised but not enforced, the law becomes less of a shield and more of a stage prop — hollow and performative.

Section 4 of RA 7079 assures that editorial boards may “freely determine its policies,” yet some cases reveal how fragile editorial autonomy can be when placed under institutional command.

One trended a year ago when the University of Santo Tomas ordered its official student media entity, TomasinoWeb, to remove a photo depicting its two college students entering a convenience store, simply because their Type B uniforms resembled those of the store’s employees. They claimed the image invited public ridicule, turning what could have been dismissed as a harmless joke into a flashpoint for deeper concerns about freedom of expression and the tightening grip of conservatism on student voices. 

Similar restraints plague other campuses: in January 2025, the staff of Today’s Carolinian at the University of San Carlos received an eviction notice from their administration, stating that their office would be converted into a workspace for alumni. Their recognition as an official student publication also remains suspended in bureaucratic limbo, as approval lies in the hands of an office notorious for red tape, delays, and unjust requirements. On the other hand, in February the same year, The SPARK at Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges ignited controversy when a local politician rebuked their mock election survey results and subjected a senior editor to harassment.

Section 7, though, provides security of tenure, with the latter clause stating that “a student shall not be expelled or suspended solely on the basis of articles he or she has written or on the basis of the performance of his or her duties in the student publication.” However, in parallel with the way campus journalism has expanded its reach to digital platforms, today’s campus journalists face far more insidious and calculated forms of silencing and red-tagging than what they cover.

Heavy sounds inside the wallets

Other than the legal vacuum, funding hunger is yet another load on the shoulders of the student press. Section 5 mandates that subscription fees and appropriated savings must not be withheld and should be automatically released, but countless student publications are left gasping for financial breath — delayed releases, denied requests, and frozen accounts have become alarmingly routine. 

The gap widened further with the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931), which barred the collection of school fees, including publication fees, without offering a lifeline in return. As the Commission on Higher Education neglects to provide viable alternatives, publications in State Universities and Colleges are also subjected into a financial limbo, making them unable to print, publish, or pay. 

Conceal, don’t feel

According to the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, over 206 cases of campus press freedom violations were recorded from 2023 to 2024 alone, but legislative action to strengthen RA 7079 has been disappointingly sparse. From the 15th to the 19th Congress, only a handful of bills were filed to amend or repeal the outdated law.

In 2018, former senator Leila De Lima filed Senate Bill No. 1868 seeking to repeal RA 7079 and introduce stronger support systems, including secure funding, in-depth training, and genuine editorial freedom. Former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. followed with Senate Bill No. 1204 in 2019 and Senate Bill No. 1464 in 2022, both of which proposed to not only repeal RA 7079 but also penalize violations against campus press freedom. Yet despite their intentions, these bills languished in committee, collecting dust as the climate for student journalism grows more perilous. 

Instead, what they offered were laws that bite back harder, like the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (RA 11479), which thrives on vague definitions of “terrorism” tied to speech, writings, or symbols and brands dissent without due process — a disturbing inertia in the very institutions sworn to preserve democratic values.

Nicked and endangered

The accumulation of such long-standing gaps has mounted a culture of fear in what was once a revered space for critical minds. This fear reached a crescendo during the pandemic, when even the simple act of voicing out concern was perceived as defiance. Remember Joshua Molo, the Editor-in-Chief who was threatened with online libel for criticizing the government’s pandemic response? Campus journalists like him, activists, and even ordinary citizens found themselves walking on a wire, where every post, comment, or statement could lead to persecution. 

After all these, how can the policy nurture the journalistic skills and moral compass of students when their pens are mistaken for slashes of treason? What hope do responsible and free journalism have when young voices are hushed before they ever learn to echo? 

Unsilent screams to change

With these situations involving campus journalists, the call for reform of the Republic Act 7079 has continuously spoken in the loudest volume for the longest years. However, it seems to be uncertain to feel and experience beyond ethical and highly esteemed vows.  

From the general and generic statements and lack of enforceable provisions stated in the Act, the less guarantees for the constitutional rights of the student journalists seems to be insignificant in their democratic responsibilities. Concerning matters from the publication funds, multimedia platforms for such expression, and expansion of promoting and supporting campus journalism across schools, shook the situation to render the youth’s most time and effort to empower themselves for truth and integrity. 

Though more bills and orders exist to further recognize the role of student journalists, the protection of speech freedom remains at risk as the limitation impedes the bridge among student journalists to set what is right and must to be done in exchange for their names and reputations. 

As the enactment of RA 7079 reached its 34 years, one question arises: Is it relevant until today — where student journalists are being red-tagged, harassed, and receiving threats and violence against their duties and commitments?

The urge to repeal R.A. 7079 looks into its pressure on senators and representatives in the 20th Congress through the full force of the student journalists nationwide. Simply through solidarity from the nation’s youth-led journalism organizations, and digital promotion for the new Campus Journalism Act, the chance is in the hands of those who dream of seeing the transformation of journalism landscape in the country. 

New era or another eerie? 

Campus journalism has long been kept alive by the sheer resolve of students who have learned to sharpen their pens even when the ink runs dry. RA 7079 gave them a place in the system, institutionalizing their right to publish and providing opportunities for journalistic growth. 

But this law has stayed frozen in a pre-digital, pre-authoritarian framework — it does not confront the realities of today’s battlefield, where disinformation, state-sponsored intimidation, censorship, and cyberattacks build new weapons of suppression alongside legal vulnerability and financial drought.

To let campus journalism flourish as a true fourth estate within the walls of learning, the law must evolve into a double-edged sword: one gleaming blade to carve paths for surging voices, and another forged to strike down those who smother press freedom in all its modern forms. 

Until RA 7079 becomes as fearless as those it serves, the war on truth will claim more voices before it ever sees peace.