(The Philippine Star)
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MANILA, Philippines - Television viewers and radio listeners can monitor live the trial of the Maguindanao massacre after the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday granted the petition for live media coverage.
Voting unanimously, the SC partially granted the petition of President Aquino, relatives of the 57 massacre victims, major TV networks, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, several journalists and members of academe.
The 15-page decision is the valedictory ruling of retiring Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.
The SC said the Maguindanao massacre case is an exemption to the general rule that prohibits airing of court trial due to
“impossibility of accommodating all interested parties, even the private complainants/families of the victims and other witnesses, inside the courtroom.”
“It is about time to craft a win-win situation that shall not compromise rights in the criminal administration of justice, sacrifice
press freedom and allied rights, and interfere with the integrity, dignity and solemnity of judiciary proceedings,” read the SC ruling.
“Technology tends to provide the only solution to break the inherent limitations of the courtroom, to satisfy the imperative of a transparent, open and public trial.”
The SC said the landmark ruling only applies to the Maguindanao massacre case.
The SC said the indication of “serious risks” posed by live media coverage to the right to due process has left a blow to the exercise of press freedom and the right to public information.
“The rationale for an outright total prohibition was shrouded, as it is now, inside the comfortable cocoon of a feared speculation which no scientific study in the Philippine setting confirms, and which fear, if any, may be dealt with by safeguards and safety nets under existing rules and exacting regulations,” read the SC decision.
It cited the case President Corazon Aquino had filed against the late STAR columnist Louie Beltran and the promulgation of the plunder case against ousted President Joseph Estrada at the Sandiganbayan.
SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the SC took into consideration the advancement in information technology in considering the request for live media coverage of the Ampatuan trial.
“The court of course had to weigh the rights of the accused together with press freedom and the right of the public to information,” he said.
“So all these rights were weighed, that’s why the court has come up with this compromise.”
Under SC guidelines, its public information office would put up a camera inside the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 and simultaneously feed footage to TV networks and radio stations outside the courtroom.
Marquez said media outlets are also required to apply for accreditation with the RTC before they would be allowed to broadcast the trial.
“The proceedings shall be broadcast without any voice-overs, except brief annotations of scenes depicted therein as may be necessary to explain them at the start or at the end of the scene,” he said.
Marquez said the coverage must also be continuous during trial without commercial breaks, he added.
“No repeat airing of the AVR shall be allowed until after the finality of judgment, except brief footage and still images derived from or
sketches of scenes based on the recording, only for news purposes, which shall likewise observe the sub judice rule and be subject to the contempt power of the court,” he said.
Marquez said the live coverage would apply once processing of permits to media networks is approved by the court.
It would also create a special committee, which shall forthwith study, design, and recommend appropriate arrangements,
implementing regulations, and administrative matters referred to it by
the court concerning the live coverage, the SC said.
A total of 198 people have been accused of involvement in the killing of 57 people in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.
Among those accused are members of the Ampatuan clan, including its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., a former Maguindanao
governor; his sons Andal Jr., former Datu Unsay town mayor; Sajid, former officer-in-charge of the province; and Zaldy, suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
It would lessen the cost for the victims’ families who have to travel all the way from Mindanao to Manila just to attend the proceedings, Aquino said.
Shortly after assuming office in June 2010, Aquino wrote Chief Justice Renato Corona to grant the request of the families of the massacre victims for live coverage of the trial.
It was denied, but the SC reversed itself when the families sought a reconsideration of the original ruling.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said the decision was “round one victory already for the massacre victims.”
“That (SC ruling) will ensure transparency and make the judge vigilant and accountable to the Filipino people,” he said.
“This will hasten the attainment of justice for the victims.”
Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz identified the suspect as Nasser Talib, one of the more than 100 militiamen whom authorities are hunting down for their alleged involvement in the Maguindanao massacre
Talib’s arrest has brought to 92 the total number of suspects in the massacre now in custody of jail authorities in Metro Manila.
Ortiz said Talib fell into the hands of the Army’s 104th Brigade in Barangay Poblacion in Shariff Aguak at about 9:30 a.m.
“The suspect was initially brought to the headquarters of the 104th Army Brigade in Tacurong City where he was turned over to the representatives of Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday morning,” he said.
Following the turnover, the suspect was flown to Metro Manila to be detained with the rest of the arrested suspects led by the Ampatuan clan. —With Delon Porcalla, Jaime Laude, Paolo Romero
Voting unanimously, the SC partially granted the petition of President Aquino, relatives of the 57 massacre victims, major TV networks, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, several journalists and members of academe.
The 15-page decision is the valedictory ruling of retiring Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.
The SC said the Maguindanao massacre case is an exemption to the general rule that prohibits airing of court trial due to
“impossibility of accommodating all interested parties, even the private complainants/families of the victims and other witnesses, inside the courtroom.”
“It is about time to craft a win-win situation that shall not compromise rights in the criminal administration of justice, sacrifice
press freedom and allied rights, and interfere with the integrity, dignity and solemnity of judiciary proceedings,” read the SC ruling.
“Technology tends to provide the only solution to break the inherent limitations of the courtroom, to satisfy the imperative of a transparent, open and public trial.”
The SC said the landmark ruling only applies to the Maguindanao massacre case.
The SC said the indication of “serious risks” posed by live media coverage to the right to due process has left a blow to the exercise of press freedom and the right to public information.
“The rationale for an outright total prohibition was shrouded, as it is now, inside the comfortable cocoon of a feared speculation which no scientific study in the Philippine setting confirms, and which fear, if any, may be dealt with by safeguards and safety nets under existing rules and exacting regulations,” read the SC decision.
It cited the case President Corazon Aquino had filed against the late STAR columnist Louie Beltran and the promulgation of the plunder case against ousted President Joseph Estrada at the Sandiganbayan.
SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the SC took into consideration the advancement in information technology in considering the request for live media coverage of the Ampatuan trial.
“The court of course had to weigh the rights of the accused together with press freedom and the right of the public to information,” he said.
“So all these rights were weighed, that’s why the court has come up with this compromise.”
Under SC guidelines, its public information office would put up a camera inside the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 and simultaneously feed footage to TV networks and radio stations outside the courtroom.
Marquez said media outlets are also required to apply for accreditation with the RTC before they would be allowed to broadcast the trial.
“The proceedings shall be broadcast without any voice-overs, except brief annotations of scenes depicted therein as may be necessary to explain them at the start or at the end of the scene,” he said.
Marquez said the coverage must also be continuous during trial without commercial breaks, he added.
“No repeat airing of the AVR shall be allowed until after the finality of judgment, except brief footage and still images derived from or
sketches of scenes based on the recording, only for news purposes, which shall likewise observe the sub judice rule and be subject to the contempt power of the court,” he said.
Marquez said the live coverage would apply once processing of permits to media networks is approved by the court.
It would also create a special committee, which shall forthwith study, design, and recommend appropriate arrangements,
implementing regulations, and administrative matters referred to it by
the court concerning the live coverage, the SC said.
A total of 198 people have been accused of involvement in the killing of 57 people in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.
Among those accused are members of the Ampatuan clan, including its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., a former Maguindanao
governor; his sons Andal Jr., former Datu Unsay town mayor; Sajid, former officer-in-charge of the province; and Zaldy, suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Aquino lauds SC decision
President Aquino lauded yesterday the SC for allowing live media coverage of the trial.It would lessen the cost for the victims’ families who have to travel all the way from Mindanao to Manila just to attend the proceedings, Aquino said.
Shortly after assuming office in June 2010, Aquino wrote Chief Justice Renato Corona to grant the request of the families of the massacre victims for live coverage of the trial.
It was denied, but the SC reversed itself when the families sought a reconsideration of the original ruling.
House welcomes SC decision
The chairman of the House of Representatives committee on public information welcomed yesterday the SC decision to grant live coverage of the Ampatuan trial.Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said the decision was “round one victory already for the massacre victims.”
“That (SC ruling) will ensure transparency and make the judge vigilant and accountable to the Filipino people,” he said.
“This will hasten the attainment of justice for the victims.”
Troops nab massacre suspect
Troops arrested another suspect in the Maguindanao massacre in Sharif Aguak town Monday morning.Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz identified the suspect as Nasser Talib, one of the more than 100 militiamen whom authorities are hunting down for their alleged involvement in the Maguindanao massacre
Talib’s arrest has brought to 92 the total number of suspects in the massacre now in custody of jail authorities in Metro Manila.
Ortiz said Talib fell into the hands of the Army’s 104th Brigade in Barangay Poblacion in Shariff Aguak at about 9:30 a.m.
“The suspect was initially brought to the headquarters of the 104th Army Brigade in Tacurong City where he was turned over to the representatives of Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday morning,” he said.
Following the turnover, the suspect was flown to Metro Manila to be detained with the rest of the arrested suspects led by the Ampatuan clan. —With Delon Porcalla, Jaime Laude, Paolo Romero
