Primer on the Right to Reply Bill
March 28, 2009Prepared by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)
February 2009
This primer seeks to shed analysis and explain in detail why the College Editors Guild of the Philippines is steadfastly rejecting the Right of Reply Bill.
What is the Right of Reply Bill?
In June 2004, Senate Bill (SB) 1178 was filed by Senator Aquilino Pimentel during the 13th Congress. The said bill, however, passed the third reading but failed to get approved due to lack of time. When Congress resumed sessions in June 2007, Pimentel immediately re-filed his bill and gained Senate approval by June 2008. SB 1178 was then effectively substituted by SB 2150.
On July 29, 2008, the Senate passed SB 2150, otherwise known as: “An Act Granting the Right of Reply and Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof,” on its third reading. It was supported by Senators Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Mar Roxas, Loren Legarda and Pimentel, among others.
Meanwhile, Bacolod City Representative Monico Puentevella filed House Bill (HB) 1001 and Aurora Congressman Juan Edgardo Angara filed HB 162 as counterparts of SB 2150 in the Lower House. These two bills were combined and were substituted by HB 3306. HB 3306 is currently being heard in the Lower House, with Congressmen Bienvenido Abante, Angara and Puentevella as main sponsors.
It is interesting to note that although SB 2150 and HB 3306 were filed in different houses, they bear identical titles and has a hair strand difference.
The Right of Reply Bill would mandate media companies, outfits and entities to provide “equal space or airtime” to anyone who is a subject of critical reports, to reply or react as form of the latter’s freedom of expression, thus, the right to reply. The bill, furthermore, stipulates that this be done within three (3) days of a news item’s publication or airing.
The House measure furthermore seeks to punish the publisher and editor-in-chief of a publication or the owner and station manager of a broadcast outfit if they fail to comply or give “equal treatment” to a complainant’s reply to a specific report.
The Senate approved the passage of the bill by a vote of 21-0. Congress, on the other hand, has delayed the hearing of the bill following strong opposition from media organizations and civil society groups. Supporters of the bill in the House of Representatives, however, are preparing a so-called ‘watered down’ version of the said bill following strong opposition from various media organizations.
Senators Escudero, Legarda and Roxas have also retracted their signatures on the Senate version, while Malacanang has vowed to veto the bill if and when Congress approves it.
This initial triumph of exposing the Right of Reply Bill can only be attributed to the overwhelming unity of campus press, media practitioners and concerned groups over the bill’s threat to press freedom and freedom of expression.
Why reject the Right of Reply Bill?
1. The Bill is unconstitutional. It violates Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances,” as well as several principles of criminal law.
National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) secretary general Neri Colmenares cited the overly broad and vague provision in the bill mandating the right of reply of all persons “who are criticized by innuendo, suggestion, or rumor for any lapse in behavior in public or private life” in saying that the elements of a supposed crime are “not clear.” “Who decides what is ‘innuendo, suggestion, rumor or lapse in behavior’?” Colmenares said.
Moreover, once the bill is signed into law, Filipinos will also, directly or indirectly, be denied of their right to information which is the building block of any sound judgment that will lead to actions meant to preserve the rights and welfare of the citizenry.
2. The Bill is repressive. Should the bill pass into law, many journalists and/or media outfits will be hindered from performing their prime tasks as watchdogs of society out of fear of paying sums of pesos as punishment for not printing the reply of a “ridiculed or maligned” person.
The Guild believes the bill, which requires or mandates media outfits to publish or air replies in the same space, be it front page or inside story, encroaches on the right of the editorial board to determine the content of publications according to the relevance of issues.
With this bill, the prerogative of the press to determine what to publish or broadcast is undermined for it compels the media to print or air the reply of the “aggrieved” person who does not even have the burden to prove that he has been affected by a report.
Prof. Danilo Arao of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications states, “As it is, the bill has negative repercussions on the workings of the press. Editors, normally referred to as the gatekeepers of information, should be allowed to choose which stories get published, aired or uploaded and which stories are given due prominence based on the time-tested elements of news. Instead of coming up with bills that seek to legislate how the media should function, it would do well for legislators to help strengthen self-regulation in media by creating an environment conducive for the effective practice of the media profession.”
Consequently, Section 3 of the Right of Reply Bill is sure to undermine especially the campus press. Due to lack of resources and its common operations, it is impossible for majority of campus publications to comply “not later than one day” as prescribed by HB 3306 or “not later than three days” according to SB 2150. Never has there been a daily student publication in the entire history of campus press.
Also, advocacy press, which includes student gazettes, would certainly fall victim to this bill due to the nature of their writings. It does not appease at all that the status quo of politics and press freedom in the country has been known to favor politicians and other prominent individuals in legal venues. Suffice to say, under such conditions that press people are working in, the Right of Reply Bill is not democratic at all, it is ultra democracy at the expense of press freedom and freedom of expression.
3. The Bill is pointless. There is no need for the Right of Reply Bill at all. The “aggrieved” person/s that the bill claims to protect has long been valued by the media in its practice of always getting two sides of the story.
While the Guild relents that media’s record is not entirely spotless, it echoes the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) sentiment that “we cannot allow the sins of the few to be an excuse for the wholesale muzzling of a free press and the suppression of free expression. To do so would to allow bad governance to triumph.”
There are, also, inevitable reasons why sometimes only one side is aired or published: the person either refuses interview and/or the person is out-of-reach.
Moreover, as a practice, the media accommodates not just replies but even criticisms and statements through spaces such as the letter to the editor and opinion sections.
Furthermore, if the claim that this bill seeks to mitigate journalist killings in the country is to be believed, there is no reason, still, to discuss the bill at all. In resolving the culture of impunity, what the Philippine press needs is political will, not a mere bill.
What can we do?
1. Publish opposition to the Right of Reply Bill in campus papers, blogs and websites, emails and forum threads, or you may re-post this material. Write letters to the editors and opinion columns.
2. Organize fora and/or small group discussions in campus publication offices and other venues on the Right of Reply Bill. This primer may be reproduced or reprinted.
3. Email or send a letter rejecting the bill to offices of congressmen and senators, especially the bill’s sponsors.
4. Sign the petition against the Right of Reply Bill. (will update link soon).
5. Join protest actions against the Right of Reply Bill.
Gag us NOT! Reject the Right of Reply Bill! Defend Press Freedom! Uphold Campus Press Freedom!
Lunduyan Invitation
September 17, 2008
College Editors Guild of the Philippines
Office: Rm. 305 National Press Club bldg., Intramuros, Manila Telefax: (02) 5243927
Email: cegphils@gmail.com
September 2008
Editor in Chief
The official student publication
Fellow campus journalist:
Greetings from the National Office!
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Luzon will hold the LUNDUYAN 2008, the annual Luzonwide journalism skills training workshop on October 25-29 at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Condora, Damortis, Rosario, La Union.
CEGP is the oldest and widest intercollegiate alliance of student publications in the country. This year, the Guild celebrates its 77th year of existence committed to the advancement of campus press freedom.
LUNDUYAN will provide lectures and workshops on basic, intermediate and advanced journalism skills. Likewise trainings on different literary genres will be given. And as part of the Guild’s dedication to educating student journalists regarding the plight of the country, various socio-political discussions will also be featured.
The Guild has invited respected media practitioners and luminaries of Philippine literature.
Also, promising literary writers will be honored in the 4th Gawad Emman Lacaba (GEM), CEGP-Luzon’s annual literary contest.
In this regard, we invite your publication to attend the LUNDUYAN 2008. Registration fee is pegged at P2, 350 per delegate, which is inclusive of food, lodging and kits for each participant. Attached herewith are the program and GEM’s mechanics. CHEd endorsement will follow as soon it is available.
For those yet to pay their annual CEGP membership fee, settlement of your dues is highly encouraged. CEGP’s institutional fee is P500 plus the regional fee (for example, NCR’s regional fee is P250) which is determined by the local chapters.
For queries, you may contact our Program Coordinators Mr. Gerg Anrol Cahiles at 09273670948 and Ms. Trina Fideris at 09104803098.
We look forward to your publication’s participation.
For a free press,
Rheyne Robledo
Chair, Organizing Committee
Mark Benedict Lim
Vice President for Luzon
Ilocos fiscal dismisses theft charges vs. UNP campus newshen
June 24, 2008June 22, 2008
Rod Tajon for Northern Dispatch
VIGAN CITY — A Vigan City prosecutor dismissed the theft charges filed against a student journalist of the University of Northern Philippines (UNP).
According to the Resolution signed by City Prosecutor Dedicacion Banua, the Criminal Complaint for Theft filed by . Nolito Ragunjan, coordinator for Student Publications of UNP-Vigan, was dismissed because the City Prosecutor’s Office finds no probable cause to hold Ma. Criselda Diocena for trial.
Said court resolution stated that the “taking” referred to in Art.308 of the Revised Penal Code, must be accompanied by the intention, at the time of the taking, of withholding the thing with some character of permanency.
“So if the taking is momentary as when the purpose of the offender is to return the things to the owner when he was apprehended, intent to gain is not present,” the resolution noted citing People vs. Visconde 75 Phil. 520.
Ragunjan charged Diocena and Rafal, editor-in-chief of Tandem and former student regent respectively, of robbery before the complaint was amended to theft charged solely to Diocena.
Intent to gain
The resolution upheld the stand of Diocena that she has the unlimited access to the Student Resource Center (SRC) where the alleged Central Processing Unit (CPU) is located.
“It is settled that the allegedly missing CPU is with the SRC of UNP and had been there since the report that the same was missing.” The resolution stated, and added that, “It was removed from one office only to be transferred to another office of the same University. Meaning, it is still within the custody of the University and not transferred to anybody, it is within the control and free disposal of the University.”
The resolution stressed that the elements of intent to gain and unlawful taking could “hardly be inferred”.
According to the Revised Penal Code, Theft has the following elements: a) Intent of gain; b) Unlawful taking; c) Personal property belonging to another; d) Absence of violence or intimidation against persons or force upon things; and e) without the consent of the owner.
Persecution campaign
Human Rights groups in Ilocos welcomed the decision of the City Prosecutor’s Office. In a joint statement issued by Tanggulan Youth Network for the Advancement of Human Rights and Ilocos Human Rights Advocates (IHRA), said that the decision only showed that attempts to hide the truth would succeed.
However, they dismissed the thought that the harassments will stop.
These fabricated cases are meant to persecute the students fighting for the rights of the students. The statement noted stating that the dismissal of Diocena does not end the continuing persecution among student activists.
“As part of the educational system that is commercialized, colonial and fascist, it is expected that they will continue their vilification campaign against Diocena, Pelayo among others to demoralize the students in asserting their rights,” the statement stressed.
Diocena for her part, also welcomed the prosecutor’s decision, however, she feared that another trumped up charges are yet to come.
“According to Office of Student Affairs (OSA), there is still a pending case against me,” Diocena lamented. “With this continuing repression, my future is at stake,” she said.
As this developed, Diocena and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) lobbied the issue to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and rallied in front of CHED’s national office last week to call for the reopening of Tandem and to stop campus press freedom violations committed by the UNP administration.
The fight will continue until Tandem re-opens, repression ends
June 5, 2008 
CEGP to UNP Administrators:
The fight will continue until Tandem re-opens, repression ends.
The closure of TANDEM, the official student publication of UNP is nothing but a desperate attempt by UNP President Lauro Tacbas and his cohorts to prevent the issue of the “illegal” 33% tuition increase last year from reaching the students and thwart the possibilities of collective resistance against the said increase.
TANDEM members have been experiencing various cases of harassment from the school administration. Editor-in-chief Criselda Diocena was banned from taking her final examinations and was even charged with a baseless accusation of theft.
The CEGP strongly denounces the latter. The Guild considers the attack as part of a greater plan to further silence the TANDEM from voicing out different student issues inside the university and exposing the bleak future of the youth under the Arroyo regime.
Such move by the school administration leads to the illegal 33% tuition fee increase. This is a clear violation of the regulation that students should be made aware of such tuition hike. Instead, no consultation took place, which left the students totally unaware of this sudden increase. Aside from this, miscellaneous fees also increased.
For 33 years, the TANDEM has fulfilled its duty of being the vanguard of academic freedom and has never faltered in its commitment to the entire UNP community, which gained the publication numerous awards in campus journalism.
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It has been steadfast in its task of informing students about different anomalies inside the university brought about by the evil schemes of this Arroyo government to hinder accessible and quality education.This trend of silencing student papers has been imminent since the administration sees the power and ability of student publications to inform and mobilize the student population.
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This issue does not call for a new student publication; thus the need for reforms in handling not only the publication but also the entire UNP community should be addressed. UNP administrators should bear this in mind: freedom of speech and the practice of student’s democratic rights will never waver despite numerous attacks made against it. Such a move only strengthens and unifies the ranks of students against an oppressive administration.
This fight will continue until perpetrators are deemed liable, the Tandem re-opens, and repression ends. ###
04 June 2008
PRESS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reference:
Vijae Alquisola, President, 09162034402
Parents and students prepare for opening of classes
June 4, 2008
San Fernando City, La Union (June 4) - A week before the start of classes, parents and students flock to various department stores, clothing stalls, and bookstores around the city to buy school supplies, uniforms and other needed school paraphernalia to prepare for this school year’s first day.
Various schools in the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels have announced to open this coming June 10 and this has been greeted by the typical anticipation and anxiety by parents and students.
Although a number of economic crisis has burdened much of the Filipino family in the past months, the rising costs of rice, fuel and LPG to name a few, many families in La Union still see education as one of their priorities and find ways to produce the needed fees to send their children to school.
Other than tuition fees, students together with their parents has the needed school supplies to think about before being fully ready for the opening of classes.
How much do a typical student need to have all the necessary things he/she need for school?
To try and find this out, we made a checklist of things to buy for a single student each in the elementary, high school and college level and made a quick stroll to the places people frequently buy their school stuff and we came up with this list of expenses:
For a typical elementary student, the parents would have to buy at least 9 notebooks (which cost 10-27.75 pesos each); a pencil (P6.25), pad paper (P10.00 for grade 1-3 and P20.00 for intermediate pads); Crayons (P12.00 for 8’s and P24.25 for 24’s); a bag (which cost 149.75 to 499.75); a ruler (P12.00 ) ; scissors (P7.00); eraser (P5.25) and sharpener (P5.00).
A typical elementary student and their parents has to spend around P287.25 to P736.00 to prepare him or her for school excluding school uniforms which are optional for those in public schools.
A high school student has to buy the following school supplies: 10 to 12 notebooks (P12.50-P18.75) a math notebook (P19.25); ball pen (P4.95-6.50) or sign pen ( P27.00); pad paper (P20.00); 1/2 Lengthwise (12.25); 1/2 Crosswise (12.25); 1/4 lengthwise (5.50) and bag (149.75- P499.75).
This would total to 349.15 to P827.50 for every high school student excluding school uniforms which range from the cheapest P25.00 for second-hand blouses and polo shirts to P380.00 for new ones. Skirts and pants are also tagged at P380.00. Prices for shoes also ranges from P550.00 above.
A college student on the other had must have notebooks which vary in numbers according to the number of subjects, courses and personal preference of the student. Most typical first year college student need at least 8 notebooks (P12.50 to P18.75 each). Additionally, he/she has to have a yellow pad paper (P20.00); a ball pen (P4.95-P6.25) or a sign pen (P27.00); and a bag (149.75 to more than a thousand pesos).
Although it varies from one school to another and one course to another, most colleges and universities around
All in all, a freshman would have to spend an estimate of at least P1,176.00 to ready himself or herself for school excluding the tuition and other school fees.
Tuition rate in the universities and colleges in La Union ranges from P100.00/unit with additional P1,325.00 miscellaneous fee to P405.25/unit with additional miscellaneous fees which reach up to 20,000 pesos.
With the ongoing hike on the prices of LPG, fare, food prices and not to mention tuition and other school fees, many students are now thinking of ways to cut their expenses.
“Iyong mga lumang notebook nalang uli ang gagamitin ko at scrap papers para sa notes ( I’ll just use my old notebooks and scrap papers for jotting down notes) ”, shared Mhae, a 4th year HRM student when asked on how she can help out in saving money for this coming school year.
Aside from recycling and reusing old supplies, many students plan to rent a boarding house near their schools so they could walk their way to school rather than commuting. Others also plan to share baon for lunch with their classmates to cut their food expenses.
Others also turn to the popular ukay-ukay stores to find second-hand and cheap clothes they can wear for the new school year. Many others rely on hand-downs from their big brothers and sisters to save money for clothes, books, bags and other school materials.
Monday (June 9) which is announced by the government to be a national holiday is expected to be flooded by last day buyers.
