THE Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) has taken a strong stand against any form of censorship and harrassment of the press in light of the controversial decision of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation, led by its president Tats Suzara, to revoke the accreditation of SPIN.ph at the last FIVB Volleyball Men World Championship.
Led by its president Francis Ochoa of the Inquirer, the PSA board on Monday approved without a single objection a policy statement condemning what it termed as a 'backhanded form of censorship' while vowing to resist any similar attempts in the future to censure anyone among its members over critical reporting.
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"Henceforth, any official or organization responding to critical reporting by withholding or forfeiting a PSA member’s standard access to any coverage without due process and prior notice will be declared persona non grata," said one of the country's oldest media organizations in the policy statement released on Tuesday.
The statement was read by Ochoa in Tuesday's PSA Forum, shared in the PSA's official social media pages, and posted individually by members and/ or their publications.
Read the full text of the PSA policy statement:
The Philippine Sportswriters Association is alarmed by the way access to coverage was used recently as a backhanded form of censorship, and is concerned about its impact on members of the free press.
The decision taken by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation and its president, Ramon “Tats” Suzara, on September 23, 2025, revoking the credentials of SPIN.ph, a digital site of 13 years' standing, has spurred the Philippine Sportswriters Association into strengthening the protection of its members from all forms of pressure and harassment while in the performance of their duties.
That these credentials were eventually restored is not enough. We acknowledge the effort made to restore SPIN.ph's accreditation, but we call attention to the fact that revoking the website's access should never have occurred to begin with. Let us be clear: the very fact that the press is barred, however briefly and inconsequentially — and for no justifiable reason — is unacceptable.
Standing by the belief that the issuance and revocation of media credentials must never be used against reporting that is honest, hard-nosed, and executed without fear or favor, the PSA is adopting the following measure.
Henceforth, any official or organization responding to critical reporting by withholding or forfeiting a PSA member’s standard access to any coverage without due process and prior notice will be declared persona non grata.
Censorship does not always arrive as a law or as an organizational rule. Sometimes it comes as a locked gate, a revoked pass, or an inquiring voice admonished, with the hint of repercussions, that it cannot ask the question.
This is clearly prior restraint and strikes at the very heart of a free press.
To ensure that the measure is not subject to misuse, the PSA will:
•Police its ranks and provide continuing guidance to its members on fair and impartial reporting.
•Create a committee to handle dialogue between officials/athletes/organizations and PSA members to ensure due process in any case where the revocation of credentials is at issue.
Even if the PNVF’s September 23 attack against one media group has been undone, a chilling effect lingers: a whispered warning to journalists that their next critical piece—be it a short or longform article, in video form, as interview transcript—can result in non-access.
In this republic, unless the 1987 Constitution has been upended, freedom of the press is not an optional adjunct—it is a constitutional pillar. Article III, Section 4, is in fact so unequivocal about this that it constructs the point with an admonition: “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”
The section is so framed that even the combined legislative force of both chambers of Congress and the vast executive powers of the President are not enough to legislate censorship in any form.
It stands to reason that no sports official or organization can.
We pass this measure with a singular conviction: That the PSA, as a member of the country’s free press, cannot, and will not, accept being silenced, not even temporarily. That a single act of suppression, left unchallenged, risks becoming the standard practice of the future. And that today’s exception can become tomorrow’s rule, while today's silence can become tomorrow's permanent mistake.
We don't ask for favors; we ask for fairness.
We don't seek permission to speak; we seek protection for our speech.
We don't demand that people we write about meet us with a warm welcome; we demand that they do not thwart us in our work.
We end with this vow: We move forward ready to cover the games with the same vigor and fairness, respect and responsibility, commitment and passion we have always brought to our profession as journalists.
To fulfill this vow, we shall not stand idle when press freedom is threatened — not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
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