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Legislative intervention on ending impunity: A position paper on Senate Resolution Number (SRN) 800

N. B. – This is the position paper I read at the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media with regard to Senate Resolution Number 800.

Legislative intervention on ending impunity:
A position paper on Senate Resolution Number (SRN) 800

Danilo A. Arao
Associate Professor, Department of Journalism
College of Mass Communication, UP Diliman
8 August 2017, 1:00 p.m.
Committee Room 1, Senate of the Philippines
GSIS Building Complex, Pasay City

Amid the prevailing culture of impunity, any inquiry on the state of the Philippine press should be met with an open mind. That Senate Resolution Number 800 has been filed by Senator Grace Poe should therefore be welcomed, albeit with clear parameters as to how the inquiry on the performance of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) shall be conducted in aid of legislation. Given the limited time, please allow me to just explain three parameters on which your planned Senate inquiry may be based:

  1. EXISTENCE OF CULTURE OF IMPUNITY. The Senate can start with the acknowledgment that culture of impunity exists. Any denial from the powers-that-be would reflect either ignorance or dismissal of facts like statistics on killings and other forms of human rights violations. For example, the statement of Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar Albayalde that it’s “probably unfair [to] say that that there is a feeling or sense of impunity” (Inocencio, 2018, para. 2) is consistent with a clause in the administrative order that created PTFoMS. This administrative order states that violence against journalists merely creates “an impression of a culture of impunity”, and that any unsolved case gives “rise to graver impressions of impunity” (Administrative Order No. 01, 2016, p. 2). In other words, the basis for the creation of PTFoMS does not recognize the culture of impunity’s existence, only a perception of it. This gives officials like Albayalde an excuse to sometimes deny its existence, resulting in a more reactive stance in handling attacks on press freedom. Suffice it to say that with this perspective, the government cannot be proactive, much less help end the culture of impunity. It is hoped that any Senate investigation on PTFoMS results in correcting the wrong premise on culture of impunity as stated in the administrative order, most especially in the situation where the PNP Director General is a member of PTFoMS (Administrative Order No. 01, 2016, Sec. 2).
  2. FROM PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE TO INDEPENDENT COMMISSION. After recognizing the existence of culture of impunity, perhaps the government would consider giving independence to PTFoMS by reorganizing it as an independent commission on media safety. The latter’s policies and programs may dovetail with the already-established Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The difference with the CHR, however, is that this independent commission focuses more on the rights and welfare of journalists and media workers, based not just on the existing laws but also on the normative standards of the profession. The task force’s independence from the Executive Branch is absolutely necessary so that it can objectively analyze official statements, decisions, policies and programs which could threaten press freedom, as in the case of what Rappler is going through with the decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revoke its registration as a media company. Incidentally, the complaint against Rappler was filed by the Solicitor General who, just like the PNP Director General, is also a member of PTFoMS. Giving independence to the current task force would hopefully result in the proposed commission being controlled and managed by representatives of the news media sector, instead of the current situation where the members of PTFoMS are all government officials and the heads of selected media groups are mere observers and resource persons.
  3. INCLUSIVITY ON THE CONCEPT OF “MEDIA SAFETY”. I realize that the creation of an independent commission on media safety is a long process. For now, the Senate could perhaps help encourage the PTFoMS to be more inclusive in its concept of “media safety”, such that the PTFoMS shall also be tasked to do the following: (a) Investigate contractualization, union-busting, low wages and other repressive working conditions of journalists and media workers, especially those working in the communities; (b)Review existing laws that are found to be anathema to press freedom like the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175), Human Security Act of 2007 (RA 9372) and Campus Journalism Act of 1991 (RA 7079) and join concerned journalists, news media organizations, educators and students in pushing for their repeal; and (c) Include the representatives of media groups in the quick reaction teams of PTFoMS as it investigates killings and violence against media.

These parameters are highly recommended to ensure legislative intervention along the lines of helping end the culture of impunity. Much as we recognize the initiatives of the current PTFoMS in handling cases of media killings and other forms of violence against media, these are mainly reactive bereft of any long-term goals of ending impunity (whose existence, just to repeat, it officially does not recognize based on the wording of the administrative order). Right now, the PTFoMS could be publicly perceived, fairly or unfairly, as a government apologist as it inherently cannot criticize the President for his remarks against the media which may be interpreted as attacks on press freedom.

Given the predicament of PTFoMS, any inquiry in aid of meaningful legislation should be welcomed. I look forward to knowing the results of your Senate investigation in case it pushes through. Thank you.

References

Administrative Order No. 01. (2016, October 11). Retrieved from http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2016/10oct/20161011-AO-1-RRD.pdf

Inocencio, S. V. (2018, July 16). No culture of impunity in PH – PNP chief. Inquirer.net. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1010701/no-culture-of-impunity-in-ph-pnp-chief