Board exam sa mga journalist itinutulak sa Kamara

MANILA, Philippines – Dalawang mambabatas ang muling binuhay sa kamara ng panukalanag sumailalim sa pagsusulit ang mga nais maging mamamahayag.

Inihain nina Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao Party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. ang House Bill 2550 o ang Magna Carta for Journalists.

Nakasailalim sa panukala na kailangang kumuha ng pagsusulit ang mga mamamahayag upang maging “accredited journalists.”

Ang mga hindi papalaring makapasa ay maaari pa rin naman magtrabaho bilang mamamahayag, ayon sa panukala.

"They will still be allowed to exercise their duties and rights as journalists and enjoy only those benefits and privileges accorded to them by their employers," pahayag ni Rodriguez.

Kung sakaling matuloy ay magkakaroon ng Professional Journalist Examination at ng Philippine Council for Journalists (PCJ) na magsasagawa ng pagsusulit para sa radio, television, print at photography.

Sinabi pa ni Rodriguez na layunin ng panukala na maprotektahan ang kapakanan at karapatan ng mga mamamahayag.

"Journalists, as purveyors of truth, risk their life and limb in order to make people aware of the local, national and international events. They provide the essential vehicle for the exchange of ideas between cultures and nations. Hence, the approval of this measure is earnestly sought," banggit ni Rodriguez.

Ang mga 10 taon o higit pa sa trabaho ay hindi na kinakailangan pang kumuha ng pagsusulit.

Inihain na rin naman ni Senator Jinggoy Estrada ang kaparehong panukala sa Senado.

Samantala, ikinabahala naman ng Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) ang panukala at sinabing maaaring malimitahan ang karapatan ng mga mamamahayag at malagay sa alanganin ang press freedom.

"The possibility is that the implementing rules and regulations that would follow the bill once it becomes law would transform the PCJ into a government agency, since it would not make sense for such a Council to be without any means to compel compliance. That would be an unacceptable risk to press freedom, as well as unconstitutional," pahayag ng CMFR nitong Agosto.