A sketch of Eduardo Castrillo’s monument to press freedom, which will be erected in Cagayan de Oro City.

Sculptor Eduardo Castrillo continues his historical and cultural legacy series with an upcoming monument that speaks strongly of the need to uphold press freedom.

The monument, entitled “Suppressing the Voice of the People: A Tribute to the Slain Members of Mass Media,” shows a male photojournalist, a male broadcast journalist, and a slain female investigative journalist. Standing more the five meters tall, the monument is made of brass, copper, and stainless steel. To be unveiled in September, the sculpture will rise at the De Lara Provincial Capitol Park in Cagayan de Oro City–the first Castrillo monument to be erected in Mindanao.

Like many of Castrillo’s  monuments that commemorate historical events or uphold Filipino values, “Suppressing the Voice of the People” touches on an international and domestic issue–the freedom of speech and of the press–and pays tribute to those who continue to uphold these rights despite threats and persecution.

“The members of the press are frontliners in a society’s quest for democracy, freedom, peace, and equality. When any of its members is suppressed or slain, it is not only they who are deprived of their life and freedom, but it is the people’s voice and liberty that suffers the most.  For years, internationally and locally, press people [have been] killed.  To silence them also means that the truth for public information is silenced,” Castrillo says.

A project  of Gov. Oscar Moreno and the provincial board of Misamis Oriental, the Castrillo monument was inspired by a slain local investigative journalist. Moreno feels the need to have a lasting reminder, not only of the dead reporter, but also as a tribute to all journalists who have stood for truth and died in its pursuit.

Castrillo, who received the CCP Thirteen Artists Award in 1970 and the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award in 1971, has been in the arts for more than 40 years and has designed monuments in the Philippines and in other countries. One of his more prominent works is the People Power Monument, which can be found along EDSA near Camp Aguinaldo. Castrillo, who has produced more than 30 monuments all over the Philippines,  often donates his artist’s fee for government projects and makes the local government pay only for cost of materials and labor.

View the artist’s Website