(CMFR/IFEX) – In an attempt to hold back the Arroyo Administration’s recent efforts to suppress press freedom in the country, different media organizations and journalists recently joined forces to file a petition in the Court of Appeals (CA) to prohibit “executive-branch officials from censoring the media.” In a complaint dated 8 March 2006, the petitioners […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – In an attempt to hold back the Arroyo Administration’s recent efforts to suppress press freedom in the country, different media organizations and journalists recently joined forces to file a petition in the Court of Appeals (CA) to prohibit “executive-branch officials from censoring the media.”
In a complaint dated 8 March 2006, the petitioners sought first, the prohibition on the government’s imposition of any form of content-based prior restraint on the press; and second, the annulment of any decrees or rulings issued that bar the media from airing or broadcasting news and commentaries that the government deems “subversive.”
The petitioners were composed of national and local media organizations, such as the CMFR, the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ); several other national media entities and institutions; and numerous journalists and media stakeholders.
Among the notable journalists co-filing the petition were Maria Ressa, Jessica Soho, and Ed Lingao, news and current affairs heads of network giants ABS-CBN, GMA, and ABC, respectively; Philippine Journalism Review Reports editor Chit Estella; PCIJ executive director Sheila Coronel, and dozens of other media personalities, broadcasters, and academics.
In their joint press release, the media groups asserted that “only a court, with its accompanying due process safeguards, may impose content-based prior constraints, when the grounds therefore are duly proved.”
“The dangers of unreviewable administrative actions imposing prior restraints on the press are as ancient as dictators,” the petition said. “We seek the intervention of this Honorable Court to stop the use of the strong arm of the law to exclude speech protected by the Constitution.”
The petitioners named Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) as respondents in the case.
On 24 February, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of national emergency (also known as Presidential Proclamation 1017 or PP1017) to quell alleged attempts to rebel against the present administration.
On the basis of the declaration, Malacañang – through the PNP, DOJ, and NTC – launched several crackdowns against certain media outlets, most notable of which was the raid on the offices of opposition national daily “The Daily Tribune”.
Arroyo’s PP1017, which lasted one week, marked the first significant effort by the government to exercise at least partial direct control over the national media.
Several military troops were posted outside ABS-CBN and GMA, the country’s two biggest broadcast networks, while the NTC created a provision (by-law) that prohibited broadcast media from airing news and commentaries that, in its judgment, “tend” to incite the public to treason, rebellion or sedition, or which “constitute” rebellious/terrorist propaganda, comments, information, interviews, and other similar or related materials.”
DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez also announced recently that the government will monitor the media broadcasts for rebellious remarks or reportage. There have been three rebellion cases filed so far, according to Gonzalez.
Theodore Te, a law professor at the University of the Philippines and member of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) – a group of lawyers assisting the petitioners – said Gonzalez’s announcements pose a real threat to press freedom.
“The point here is that the government cannot just do [what Gonzalez has said]. The media has its own self-regulatory bodies to police themselves,” Te said.
In a special hearing conducted by the Senate on 9 March, Ressa and other network executives sought the repeal of NTC’s new provision, arguing that it was unconstitutional and an assault on press freedom.
The hearing focused on the possible revocation of franchises or takeovers of media companies that engage in biased reporting or publication of material allegedly affecting national security.
During the said hearing, Ressa revealed that a high-ranking official from the Office of the President called ABS-CBN and asked them to stop airing the network’s coverage of a military standoff on 26 February.
“Information in times of crisis becomes more critical,” Ressa said referring to their coverage of the standoff, which took place at the Marine’s headquarters in Taguig City, just southeast of Manila. Ressa added that ABS-CBN had ignored the official’s demand. Ressa admitted, however, that deciding on the matter was very difficult because they were balancing freedom of speech, the Filipino public’s right to information, as well as the interest of the state.
After the network rejected the official’s plea, Presidential Chief of Staff Mike Defensor aired a public appeal for all media entities to stop covering the event live.
Government Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the government’s recent actions against the media were not meant to suppress press freedom but to serve as a “wake up call” for the media groups to be objective and responsible in reporting the news.
“This was not a jab at press freedom, but a wake up call to the journalists and media entities to reflect on the basic tenets of the profession,” Bunye said.
Bunye stressed that the fact that the media groups were allowed to file a petition before the CA only proved that democracy still “reigns” in the country.
According to PP1017, the causes and claims of the suspected rebels “have been recklessly magnified by certain segments of the national media.”
“I do not always seek ‘praise releases,’ I look for a journalist who does not praise, and in fact often criticizes, but also knows the limits,” Arroyo said in a radio interview recently, apparently referring to biased reporting by certain media organizations.
