Pimentel clarifies right to reply not meant to infringe on press freedom

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. on Thursday said he does not think that his proposal to grant persons unfairly maligned by the media the right to reply will constitute an encroachment on the freedom of the press or an undue imposition on journalists and owners of media outfits.

Pimentel said the freedom of the press and of expression will in fact be enhanced by Senate Bill 1178  requiring newspapers, radio and television stations to print or broadcast the replies of individuals who were at the receiving and of their criticisms or accusations.

"In all honesty, I don't think it is an infringement. The freedom of the press and of society to express the views of people is not something that is exclusive to media. Everybody has that freedom," he said.  "In other words, media has the right to criticize me. But I have the right to respond so that the people will know both sides of the issue."

By giving the person concerned newspaper space or broadcast time to explain and defend himself, this precludes a recourse to legal remedy through the filing of a libel case and spares the journalists of the difficulties and expenses for his legal defense.

"We have to provide the remedy. We know very well that without the remedy, usually the person who is unduly maligned will have to go to court and sue in a criminal case," Pimentel said.

He said the proposal also aims to deter persons who were the objects of media tirades from resorting to violence or "using the gun to level off things which I think is responsible for the killing of a number of journalists over the years."

Pimentel said the proposed right to reply is a companion measure to the bill on the decriminalization of libel which he and other senators have filed.

By decriminalizing libel, Pimentel said the right of the person concerned will be limited to securing redress by way of a civil libel where the court may order the payment of damages if the respondent journalist is declared guilty of the charge. No prison term will be imposed.

Under the Pimentel bill, the reply of the aggrieved person should be published preferably in the same space of the newspaper where the offending item or verbal abuse was printed.

Pimentel decried that the Philippines has been given the ugly description in the international media as a "killing field for journalists."

The International News Safety Institute reported that the Philippines is the 3rd most dangerous place for newsmen after Iraq and Afghanistan, which are both wracked by prolonged civil war.

According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, 87 journalists have been slain from 1986 to the present. About 50 of the media killings were reported since 2001.

Pimentel said this is not to say that the extra-judicial killings or wanton murder of journalists in this country are necessarily the evil results of the vengeful acts of the people they might have libel.

"We cite these figures to underscore the thesis that perhaps, if people who are maligned can demand as a matter of right that the newspapers, radio or television concerned publish their side of any publicized controversy, conceivably there could be an easing of tensions," he said.