The formation of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) addresses one of the critical concerns confronting the Philippines after People Power toppled the Marcos dictatorship in February 1986.

Effective participatory government is possible only when it can count on a well-informed society where individuals freely exchange ideas, and public debate and discussion arise from knowledge and understanding of national affairs.

The press and the media need to exert special efforts to measure up a collective vehicle of information, and as an instrument for clarifying complex issues and dilemmas of development that the public should understand.

In addition to special projects based on content analysis, PJR Reports includes case studies of media performance.

Sent to over 500 journalists nationwide, PJR Reports also serves as a regular forum for the discussion of the issues and problems of the news media in the Philippines.

These involve basic building blocks for any kind of reporting: research, inquiry, and corroboration to ensure the validity of one's findings.

Contributors are media practitioners from the region who gather for a conference (the Journalism Asia Forum) to discuss selected issues that will be taken up in the magazine.

In 2005, CMFR won second prize in the ethics and values category of the Templeton Freedom Awards of the United States-based Atlas Economic Research Foundation.

Executive Judge Winlove Dumayas of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 59 granted the petition for a temporary restraining order, effective for 72 hours.