SC starts massacre trial's live streaming

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court today started live streaming the Maguindanao massacre trial through its website.

This is the first time that the country’s judiciary aired a live court hearing, heeding to requests of various media entities to allow them to gain access to the controversial trial.

Today’s airing is still a test-run after the SC justices unanimously approved last June 14 to allow live broadcast on the trial.

The SC has clarified that this is merely a pro hac vice, meaning for this particular occasion only, meaning no other court hearings will be aired live by the judiciary.

Chief Justice Renato Corona had instructed the SC Public Information Office to provide a live video webcast of the court proceedings through the SC website. 

With this, the Maguindanao Massacre trial will be accessible to viewers worldwide, continuously and without interruption. Once a scheduled trial is in progress, it can be immediately viewed by simply accessing the SC website using computers or mobile internet devices, including cellphones equipped with required software.

“With the live broadcast, the objections regarding no commercial breaks or gaps, and continuous broadcast of entire proceedings, will be addressed,” said Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez.

"The first live stream of the trial was successful but we still want to improve it,” he added

Marquez said the test live stream of the court proceedings was in response to numerous requests for a live coverage of the trial. He said there were more than 200 viewers of the live stream.

Some of the viewers, however, complained of bad audio reception while others a choppy video image.

Marquez said there was also a three to five second delay during the live stream that the High Court would still have to address.

"There are viewers as far as Pangasinan," Marquez noted.

He said the technical people in the SC would still have to be ready when the number of viewers would substantially increase in the next court proceedings.

"We can do that if we have the necessary facilities," Marquez said, adding there will be no live stream of tomorrow's trial.

Philstar.com asked an SC public relations personnel, who asked not to be named, if we can mirror the live streaming, but we were told that requirements for TV networks to broadcast the trial live also apply on news websites, including a formal authorization from the court.

Media guidelines

For media entity to have the live broadcast of the trial, the SC set the following guidelines:

* An audio-visual recording of the Maguindanao massacre cases may be made both for documentary purposes and for transmittal to live broadcast broadcasting;

* Media entities must file with the trial court a letter of application, manifesting that they intend to broadcast the audio-visual recording (AVR) of the proceedings; no selective or partial coverage shall be allowed and no media entity shall be allowed to broadcast the proceedings without an application duly approved by the trial court;

* A single fixed compact camera shall be installed inconspicuously inside the courtroom to provide a single wide-angle full-view of the sala of the trial court; no panning and zooming shall be allowed to avoid unduly highlighting or downplaying incidents in the proceedings x x x x

* Broadcasting of the proceedings for a particular day must be continuous and in its entirety;

* No commercial break or any other gap shall be allowed until the day’s proceedings are adjourned, except during the period of recess call by the trial court and during portions of the proceedings wherein the public is ordered excluded;

* 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;

* No repeat airing of the AVR shall be allowed until after the finality of judgment, except brief footages and still images derived from or cartographic 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.