Media absentee voting must cover local posts

CEBU, Philippines - With the approval of the media absentee voting bill in the Senate last Monday, members of the Cebu media are hopeful for its full implementation once it is signed by President Benigno Aquino.

Senate Bill 1198, authored by Senator Manuel Villar, provides that members of the media would be allowed to vote earlier than the actual national and local elections on May 2013.

Gerome Dalipe, president of the Media Alliance for Law, Liberty, Equality and Truth (MALLET) or the beat reporters assigned to cover stories in the court, said that he is hopeful the president would sign the bill, which can greatly help those in the media like him.

Dalipe explained that even though he is just residing in Mandaue City, he has not voted for the past two elections since he was assigned to far-flung areas.

“There are so many journalists and reporters in Cebu that come from places far from the city. Even if we want to vote, but our responsibility to cover the election in areas where we are assigned to becomes our priority. With this bill, we will be able to use our right to suffrage,” Dalipe said.

But Gregg Rubio of The Freeman and the president of the Capitol Association of Reporters in Tri-media (Cart) said that while he is personally in favor of the absentee voting bill, the provisions and coverage of the bill should be clarified.

He said that the positions which reporters can vote for during the said ‘special early election date’ should be national and local positions and not just the former.

He said that if local provisions would be included, then it would be fully beneficial to the media.

However, according to a national report, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III confirmed that the positions included for the media to vote for are presidents, vice-president, senators and party-list representatives.

Rubio said that if this is the case, he would rather find a way to vote on the election day itself along with other regular voters since he wants to make sure he can vote for local candidates.

Rubio has been in the media for 13 years and said that he has not missed an election without voting.

Although he lives in Daanbantayan in the northern most part of Cebu, he explained that if he is not assigned in the northern towns during the election, which makes it easier for him to vote, he makes sure that he goes home by evening to his hometown so he can vote early in the morning. After which, he travels for four hours to be back in the city to do his job.

The bill, if approved, requires members of the media to be accredited by the Commission on Election with a recommendation from their respective media companies.

Aside from media personnel, other staff members of the media outlet would also be covered by the bill.  — (FREEMAN)