Supreme Court may allow live massacre trial coverage

THE Supreme Court (SC) will possibly allow the live coverage of the Maguindanao massacre trial, a court official said Sunday.

SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez in a radio dzMM interview said the petition, filed by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), presented a good opportunity for a reversal of the 1991 SC decision that prohibits the live coverage of any court proceeding.

Thirty-two journalists were killed on November 23, 2009 after they accompanied the wife of then Buluan vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu in filing his certificate of candidacy as Maguindanao governor.

The SC earlier prohibited live coverage of the massacre trial and the use of electronic devices to record court proceedings presided by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes.

"Considering the prejudice it poses to the defendant's right to due process, live radio and television coverage of court proceedings shall not be allowed," an excerpt from the resolution read.

Unless the SC reverses its own decision prohibiting live media coverage during court trials, the media ban on the coverage of the Maguindanao massacre case remains in effect, said earlier Marquez.

The NUJP formalized its petition before the SC on Friday, reiterating on the public’s right to information.

The petition will be discussed in the court's en banc session Tuesday. (Sunnex)