Sunday, September 24, 2006 Judges, court reporters to hold dialogue on courtroom coverage
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Executive Judge Simeon Dumdum has scheduled a dialogue with reporters covering the Palace of Justice.
The dialogue will focus on media coverage at the courtroom as well as access to public records.
Reporters from different media outlets covering the courts wrote to Dumdum earlier in the week after one court barred media access to public records.
Reporters were also told to write a letter to the presiding judge before covering a hearing.
‘Concerned’
“We are concerned because her sala handles cases we deem to be of public interest... We respectfully ask you to intervene in our behalf,” the letter to Dumdum read.
In response, Dumdum invited the justice press corps, members of the Media Alliance for the Law, Liberty, Equality and Truth (Mallet), to a dialogue with him and other judges.
The dialogue will be held on the first week of October.
Policy
“The Supreme Court has a media-relations policy. Its existence was announced in 2004 yet by no less than Justice Presbitero Velasco who was then the Court Administrator,” Mallet’s letter read.
“While it stressed that ‘court proceedings must be orderly and sober,’ it likewise acknowledged the need to satisfy ‘freedom of the press and right to information’ and even discussed the establishment of an information office in every judicial region,” it added.
While there are some judges more liberal in media coverage and allows cameras to take a shot at the proceedings, there are those who prohibits it for security reasons.
Both parties hope the dialogue will settle matters between them. (JGA)
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