Monday, January 29, 2007 Stations urged to observe right to reply law
RADIO stations must follow the law on the right to reply during the election period otherwise they will suffer penalties, including the suspension of their right of suffrage, a poll official said yesterday.
Comelec Regional Attorney Lionel Marco Catillano, who is also acting election officer for Cebu City south district, said that any aggrieved party can file a complaint against station owners and management in case they are not given the chance to reply to issues raised against them.
Promote
The Comelec was informed yesterday that mayors in various towns in Bohol and Cebu own radio stations within their locality provided for by Manila Broadcasting Corp. (MBC) under the “Radyo Natin” program.
Most of these Radyo Natin stations are operated only during the election period when the owners, mostly local officials, use it to promote their candidacy and attack their political enemies.
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) 7 Director Danilo Sy said the franchise of MBC covers all its radio stations as long as each station has provisional authority (PA) and radio station license (RSL).
The PA, Sy said, is a temporary authorization to operate a broadcast station in a certain place. The RSL is a regular authorization to operate a radio station indicating the radio frequency.
“All of these can only be issued if the company has a congressional franchise,” Sy said.
Registered
Meanwhile, Castillano said that Section 20 of Comelec Resolution 7767, or the Rules and Regulations Implementing Republic Act 9006 (The Fair Election Act) includes the “right to reply.”
This section provides that “all registered political parties, party-list groups, organizations and/coalition thereof and candidates shall have the right to reply on charges published or aired against them.”
Castillano said the reply shall be given the same prominence by the newspaper, television and radio station that first printed or aired the charges.
He said that if Radyo Natin station owned by local officials will not give the aggrieved party the right to reply, they will be penalized.
“Any violation of RA 9006 and these rules shall constitute and election offense punishable under the first and second paragraph of Section 264 of the Omnibus Election Code in addition to administrative liability whenever applicable,” Castillano said.
If a person is convicted of any election offense, the accessory penalty is perpetual disqualification from public office, without probation, and suspension of the right of suffrage. (EOB)
