As early as July 25, 2011, the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) has issued an official statement on the Aquino regime’s treatment of the media: “(A) scant month and a half in office, in August 2010, in apparent ignorance of the self-regulatory regime in the media, Mr. Aquino threatened to file criminal charges against some of the journalists who were in violation of the ethics of their profession during the coverage of the August 23 hostage taking incident… In the ensuing months Mr. Aquino kept up his criticism of the press, accusing them at one point of irresponsible behavior, while, in a call reminiscent of Joseph Estrada, he urged the business community to advertise only in `responsible’ media organizations.”
Sa panibagong pagsisiwalat ng Commission on Human Rights (CHR) hinggil sa kaso ng nawawalang aktibista na si Jonas Burgos, muling napatunayan na ang laganap na mga insidente ng pampulitikang pamamaslang at desaparesidos sa bansa ay sistematikong ipinatupad – at patuloy na ipinatutupad — ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) bilang bahagi ng programa nito sa kontra-insurhensiya. Ngunit habang hindi pa nadidiin at napapanagot ang AFP sa libu-libong kaso ng abuso sa buong kapuluan, nananatili ang klima ng pangamba at takot sa mamamayan.