A Carnival of Mirrors

As we - writers from all corners of the globe - gather here in Manila, we welcome the hospitality of our Filipino colleagues with enthusiasm. In the International Year of Indigenous Languages, we will celebrate the literary and linguistic diversity of this archipelago, but also reflect on the state of free expression in the Philippines. Around the world spaces for free expression are shrinking: dissenting voices – be they journalists, academics, writers or students - face intimidation, harassment, online abuse, violence. It is also the case in the Philippines - and it is the mission of PEN International to join hands with Filipino writers to expand literary expression and its freedom.

This collection of essays by leading Philippine writers, prepared by PEN Philippines Centre and PEN International, explores a wide range of issues affecting freedom of expression in the Philippines. We are incredibly grateful to our contributing authors: Sheila S. Coronel, Inday EspinaVarona, Manuel Mogato, Criselda Yabes and H. Francisco V. Peñones Jr.

The Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. As Manuel Mogato reports, in 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index ranked the Philippines as the fifth country in the world with the highest number of unsolved murders of journalists, behind Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and South Sudan— all conflict-torn states. Another non-profit press advocacy group, Reporters without Borders, ranked the Philippines as 134th of 180 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index. We gather here in solidarity with defenders of free expression in the Philippines, those who are pursuing truth in the face of intolerance.