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Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Militant, groups take cudgels for media
VARIOUS sectoral groups voiced their support for the defense of civil liberties and freedom of expression in a forum held at the St. Patrick Cronin Center at the Saint Augustine Cathedral Tuesday afternoon.
The forum entitled "Defend Press Freedom, Protect Civil Liberties" also reiterated the support of militant and sectoral groups for the local media in light of the recent lifting of Proclamation 1017.
In an interview, National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) secretary general Carlos Conde said Proclamation 1017 and other directives issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are intended to silence talks on how she allegedly cheated in the 2004 elections.
He also voiced concern on reports that government plans to file charges against several members of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for their stories on the "Hello Garci" scandal.
"So karon naa kitay EO 646 para dili maka saba-saba didto sa Kongreso, CPR (calibrated pre-emptive response) para dili maka saba-saba sa kadalanan ug (Proclamation) 1017 para mahilom ang media nga gasaba-saba (So now we have E0 646 so we can't talk freely to Congress, CPR so we can't vent our sentiments on the streets, and Proclamation 1017 to silence media from criticizing)," Conde said.
Later, Alas Media chairman Jerry Orcullo said President Arroyo should immediately stop all her efforts to crack down on the media.
"Or the latter will be forced to really pull ranks and finally call for her ouster," he said. Other groups also called on greater vigilance on the part of media to cover stories that expose the truth on irregularities in government.
In a speech, Union of People's Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) President Frederico Gapuz said the restrictions being imposed by the Arroyo administration are intended to ensure the President's stay in power.
"Kinsa motingog, kinsa mo tindog batok sa kalapasan sa administrasyon (Who will complain, who will stand against the violations made by the administration)," Gapuz said as he reiterated media's role as fiscalizer.
For his part, Pundok Mindanao head and former Vice Mayor Antonio Soriano said media should be unafraid to expose the truth amid the tough stance adopted by government against them. (Stephen Capillas/With a report from Lizanilla J. Amarga)
(March 15, 2006 issue)
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