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| At the end of the workshop, fellows of the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop present the resolutions approved by the group on FOI and human rights reporting to UP College of Mass Communication Dean Roland Tolentino and former Deans Georgina Encanto and Luis Teodoro. Also in the picture is the workshop's facilitator Prof. Ben Domingo Jr and workshop's speakers AVP Danny Arao of UP and Mr. Ed Lingao of PCIJ. |
Saturday, November 5, 2011
15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop
Lopez Jaena fellows to PNoy: Enact FOI
We, the fellows of the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Worskshop for Community Journalism,
Asserting freedom of the press and freedom of expression as universal human rights;
Urging government to respect the Constitution and its international obligations;
Aware of the role of press as watchdog of the state; and
Cognizant of the role of transparency in democracy;
- Push for the enactment of a genuine freedom of information bill that will open government to public scrutiny and hold public officials accountable;
- Remind government of the principles of maximum disclosure and minimum limitations to public access to information;
- Oppose efforts to bastardize the essence and spirit of the right to free access to information.
Signed this 25th of October, 2011 in the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication, Quezon City.
Jesus Miguel Agreda
Sun.Star Baguio
Winnie Aguilar
ABS-CBN
Ferdinandh Cabrera
GMA 7
Cong B. Corrales
MindaNews
Ma. Cecilia de los Reyes
PCIJ
JB Deveza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
NUJP Mindanao Media Safety Office
Bobby Labalan
Media Solutions Bicol
Macky Macaspac
Pinoy Weekly
Ronalyn Olea
Bulatlat
Kim Patria
UP College of Mass Communication
Ryan Rosauro
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Lady Ann Salem
Tudla Productions
Ritche Salgado
The Freeman (Cebu)
Raymund Villanueva
Kodao Productions
Michelle Zoleta
Philippine Star
Lopez Jaena fellows to government: End impunity
We, the fellows of the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Worskshop for Community Journalism,
Remembering our fallen colleagues who died in the line of duty, especially the 32 media workers who fell victim to the Ampatuan massacre;
Cognizant of the reality of violence that prevails in the Filipino society, not only against the press but even against civilians;
Alarmed by the culture of impunity that allows extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances; and
Reminded of the role of the free press in a democratic society,
- Proclaim our condemnation of human rights violations and demand an immediate end to the culture of impunity;
- Urge the government to take concrete action against perpetrators;
- Commit to continued vigilance in our coverage of the trial of the Ampatuan massacre, other cases of extrajudicial killings, media killings and other attacks on press freedom;
- Resolve to act as responsible journalists, guided by the principles of ethics and professionalism.
Signed this 25th of October, 2011 in the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication, Quezon City.
Jesus Miguel Agreda
Sun.Star Baguio
Winnie Aguilar
ABS-CBN
Ferdinandh Cabrera
GMA 7
Cong B. Corrales
MindaNews
Ma. Cecilia de los Reyes
PCIJ
JB Deveza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
NUJP Mindanao Media Safety Office
Bobby Labalan
Media Solutions Bicol
Macky Macaspac
Pinoy Weekly
Ronalyn Olea
Bulatlat
Kim Patria
UP College of Mass Communication
Ryan Rosauro
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Lady Ann Salem
Tudla Productions
Ritche Salgado
The Freeman (Cebu)
Raymund Villanueva
Kodao Productions
Michelle Zoleta
Philippine Star
On All Saints Day, activists call for justice for slain colleagues
By RITCHE T. SALGADO
Bulatlat.com
DUMAGUETE CITY – Justice for slain colleagues and to all victims of human rights abuses.
This was the call of progressive groups in Dumaguete City as they gathered on the morning of All Saints Day, November 1, at the site where farmer activist Fermin Lorico was slain two years ago by an assassin.
“This is a reminder to the Aquino administration to give justice for the death of Nong Fermin and to all victims of extrajudicial killings),” Fabian Magallanes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Negros) said.
Lorico, then chairman of local peasant group Kahugpungan Alang sa Ugma sa Gagmay’ng Mag-Uuma sa Oriental Negros (Kaugmaon), was shot at close range by a man riding on a motorcycle sometime in June 2009.
More than two years after, the police has yet to come up with a suspect on the slaying of Lorico, according to Juliet Ragay of Babayeng Negrense Isulong ang Kalingkawasan (Banika-Amihan), a local group of peasant women.
Police insincerity
Jose Luis Blanco of Karapatan-Negros revealed that despite the formation of Task Force Lorico months after the killing, there is still no progress on the case. He said that the formation of the task force was but a token act designed to make the police appear that they are doing something on the case. In reality, though, they have not done anything, Blanco said.
Blanco revealed that instead of the police investigating the case, the burden of coming up with a witness and evidence have instead been placed on their organization.
“The police are instead asking us to produce a witness, it’s as if we are the police,” he retorted.
“There’s no clear investigation, they did not even go to the houses near the crime scene,” he added.
Blanco pointed out that the police lack sincerity in solving cases of extrajudicial killings, citing another case – the murder of Rene Quirante, then deputy secretary general of Kaugmaon.
Quirante was beaten up and shot at close range by suspected members of the 11th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army on October 1, 2010 in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.
Unknown to the family, a warrant of arrest was issued last February for a certain Lionel Librado, an alleged rebel returnee who has defected to the military. The warrant was never served to Librado, because apparently the police could not locate him. When the family knew of the warrant, they immediately went to the police station of Guihulngan City to pressure the latter to serve the warrant, but to no avail.
In April, during the hearing of a case against a non-govenrment organization (NGO) worker in Negros Occidental, Librado was presented by the military as a witness to attest the NGO worker’s involvement with the armed movement. Members of Karapatan and Kaugmaon-KMP informed the police, even giving them information as to where Librado could be located, but the only answer they could get from the police was that they were denied access by the military to enter their camp to accost Librado.
Blanco said that despite Aquino’s promise to resolve cases of extrajudicial killings, the murders of Lorico and Quirante, not to mention the hundreds of cases of human rights abuses, are yet to be solved.
From October 10, 2010 to September of this year, Karapatan have recorded 108 cases of human rights abuses in Negros Oriental, including one extrajudicial killing, three cases of torture, and 51 cases of threat, harassment, and intimidation.
The killing of members of progressive organizations is rooted on the malicious tagging of progressive organizations as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines,” Magallanes of Bayan explained.
Killings not deterrent but inspiration
However, despite all these killings and the apparent danger in their lives, Ragay said that their resolve to fight against state-instigated tyranny would continue. Rather than becoming a deterrent, the killing of Lorico and Quirante, she said, is an inspiration.
“His struggle for the people is the reason for his death,” she said.
“We will continue to fight the fight of Nong Fermin so that we would be able to show the people the worth of Nong Fermin’s life, especially now when justice is denied from his family,” she added.
Copyright © 2009 Bulatlat. All rights reserved.
A similar story, Progressives remember murdered colleague, was published in The FREEMAN on November 3, 2011.
Bulatlat.com
DUMAGUETE CITY – Justice for slain colleagues and to all victims of human rights abuses.
This was the call of progressive groups in Dumaguete City as they gathered on the morning of All Saints Day, November 1, at the site where farmer activist Fermin Lorico was slain two years ago by an assassin.
“This is a reminder to the Aquino administration to give justice for the death of Nong Fermin and to all victims of extrajudicial killings),” Fabian Magallanes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Negros) said.
Lorico, then chairman of local peasant group Kahugpungan Alang sa Ugma sa Gagmay’ng Mag-Uuma sa Oriental Negros (Kaugmaon), was shot at close range by a man riding on a motorcycle sometime in June 2009.
 |
| Members of progressive groups in Negros Oriental light candles in memory of Fermin Lorico and other victims of human rights abuse in the province.(Photo by Ritche T. Salgado / bulatlat.com) |
Police insincerity
Jose Luis Blanco of Karapatan-Negros revealed that despite the formation of Task Force Lorico months after the killing, there is still no progress on the case. He said that the formation of the task force was but a token act designed to make the police appear that they are doing something on the case. In reality, though, they have not done anything, Blanco said.
Blanco revealed that instead of the police investigating the case, the burden of coming up with a witness and evidence have instead been placed on their organization.
“The police are instead asking us to produce a witness, it’s as if we are the police,” he retorted.
“There’s no clear investigation, they did not even go to the houses near the crime scene,” he added.
Blanco pointed out that the police lack sincerity in solving cases of extrajudicial killings, citing another case – the murder of Rene Quirante, then deputy secretary general of Kaugmaon.
Quirante was beaten up and shot at close range by suspected members of the 11th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army on October 1, 2010 in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.
Unknown to the family, a warrant of arrest was issued last February for a certain Lionel Librado, an alleged rebel returnee who has defected to the military. The warrant was never served to Librado, because apparently the police could not locate him. When the family knew of the warrant, they immediately went to the police station of Guihulngan City to pressure the latter to serve the warrant, but to no avail.
In April, during the hearing of a case against a non-govenrment organization (NGO) worker in Negros Occidental, Librado was presented by the military as a witness to attest the NGO worker’s involvement with the armed movement. Members of Karapatan and Kaugmaon-KMP informed the police, even giving them information as to where Librado could be located, but the only answer they could get from the police was that they were denied access by the military to enter their camp to accost Librado.
Blanco said that despite Aquino’s promise to resolve cases of extrajudicial killings, the murders of Lorico and Quirante, not to mention the hundreds of cases of human rights abuses, are yet to be solved.
From October 10, 2010 to September of this year, Karapatan have recorded 108 cases of human rights abuses in Negros Oriental, including one extrajudicial killing, three cases of torture, and 51 cases of threat, harassment, and intimidation.
The killing of members of progressive organizations is rooted on the malicious tagging of progressive organizations as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines,” Magallanes of Bayan explained.
Killings not deterrent but inspiration
However, despite all these killings and the apparent danger in their lives, Ragay said that their resolve to fight against state-instigated tyranny would continue. Rather than becoming a deterrent, the killing of Lorico and Quirante, she said, is an inspiration.
“His struggle for the people is the reason for his death,” she said.
“We will continue to fight the fight of Nong Fermin so that we would be able to show the people the worth of Nong Fermin’s life, especially now when justice is denied from his family,” she added.
Copyright © 2009 Bulatlat. All rights reserved.
A similar story, Progressives remember murdered colleague, was published in The FREEMAN on November 3, 2011.
Human rights in Aquino’s ‘righteous path’
“We have a democracy in name but not in fact.” – Manuel Diokno, president of the Free Legal Action GroupBy RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA –Fr. Fausto Tentorio was finally laid to rest. Well-loved by members of the Manobo tribe whom he served for more than 30 years, Tentorio was shot at eight times by a lone gunman while he was getting into his pick-up truck parked inside a church compound in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato, October 17.
A day after the Italian missionary was murdered, President Benigno S. Aquino III said, “Regardless of who did the crime, they will have to pay. That has been the direction of this administration from the start—you do the crime, you will be in jail.”
Three days after the incident, at the sitio Upper Lumbo, brgy. Kabalantian of the same town,peasant leader Ramon Batoy was shot at close range in front of his pregnant wife and two children by suspected state agents, human rights group Karapatan reported. Col. Joven Gonzales, commanding officer of the 57th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army claimed that the death of Batoy was a result of a legitimate encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) . Two other civilians, Noli Badol and Celso Batol, were reportedly arrested and tortured by the soldiers.
In his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), Aquino delivered a strong message against impunity. His words, however, have not resulted in stopping human rights abuses. Fifteen months since Aquino assumed the presidency, human rights violations continue. Karapatan documented 54 victims of extrajudicial killings, eight victims of enforced disappearances and 29 victims of torture.
In a report released in July, Human Rights Watch pointed out that there have been only seven successfully prosecuted cases of extrajudicial killings, resulting in the conviction of 12 perpetrators.
The New York-based human rights watchdog added that while the military and police, as well as paramilitary forces, have been implicated in many of these killings, there has not been a single conviction of active military personnel. The group also noted that no senior military officer has been convicted either for direct involvement in these violations or as a matter of command responsibility.
The charges filed in relation to killings of journalists are not promising either.
Apart from the Ampatuan trial, there are 15 cases in court in relation to killings of journalists. Preliminary investigation in the murder of Palawan journalist Gerry Ortega led to the filing of charges against the alleged gunman but the perceived masterminds were dropped from the case.
Prima Quinsayas of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) said that of the 122 journalists killed in the line of duty since 1986, only ten had convictions. Not one of the masterminds was included, only the gunmen and accomplices, said Quinsayas.
Measures wanting
Aquino did not heed most of the recommendations put forward by various human rights groups. In fact, upon Aquino’s inauguration in June 2010, human rights watchdog Amnesty International put forward concrete recommendations to put an end to the killings.
One of these is the issuance of an executive order that clearly states the administration’s commitment to stop the practice of enforced disappearances in the country. In particular, the group called for the establishment of a presidential commission that will review all cases of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances during the last decade, in cooperation with independent bodies, with the aim of enabling speedy prosecutions.
AI noted that the Truth Commission formed by Aquino does not include human rights violations.
In December 2010, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima created a task force headed by Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III to review the unresolved cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Pursuant to the directive issued by de Lima, Baraan said they held dialogues with various government agencies.
Finding the PNP’s Task Force Usig and later the Task Force 211 insufficient, Baraan has submitted a proposal to de Lima regarding the creation of a special presidential committee for the prevention of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and media killings. He said previous task forces had only been monitoring cases.
“The president can delegate his commander-in-chief powers to the committee,” Baraan said, adding that the committee should be given the authority to enter military barracks and installations and require explanations from the military and police, file administrative cases arising from command responsibility, among others. “We need a committee that is pro-active.”
Asked to comment on Baraan’s proposal, lawyer Manuel Diokno, president of the Free Legal Action Group (Flag) and dean of the College of Law of De La Salle Univesity (DLSU) said he likes the idea. He added, however, “I don’t think the president has shown any indication that he is open to any of these proposals.”
Linda Hornilla, former DOJ undersecretary, shot down Baraan’s proposal. Also speaking to fellows of the workshop, Hornilla said there are confidential information that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would not want the public to know.
“Another thing is the delegation of commander-in-chief authority. This is a huge and enormous power, place it in the hands of a group, not just an individual, that will be a security problem for the military,” Hornilla said.
AI also pushed for legislation that specifically criminalizes enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. Malacanang, however, has not included any of the bills pertaining to the protection of human rights in 12 priority legislative measures in the 15th Congress. Several bills, including the Marcos compensation bill, bills criminalizing enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, a bill for the protection of human rights defenders, among others, continue to gather dust.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, whose party list group filed many of these bills, pointed out the lack of human rights agenda of the Aquino administration. He said bills on human rights are often relegated to the “graveyard shift.”
AI said the government should ensure that the military exercises full control over all state-sponsored militias and paramilitary groups and that the Department of National Defense clearly defines and differentiates their purposes, particularly the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAA), Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO), police auxiliaries, barangay defense forces, chain of command and accountability mechanisms, or otherwise disarm and disband them.
These steps were not taken. AI noted that President Aquino said he had no plans to disband the paramilitary groups, which according to him, act as “force multipliers” for the military and police, including the CAFGUs, SCAA, CVO, police auxiliaries and barangay defense forces.
AI also mentioned the setting up of a national quick response hotline for families of victims of arbitrary or warrantless arrests and enforced disappearances to gain immediate recourse.
CMFR’s Melinda Quintos de Jesus said media groups have proposed to Malacañang a similar measure to address media killings, the formation of a quick response team (QRT) that will be dispatched to places where incidents occurred. “That’s what we’re waiting for. That’s not happening yet.” “We’re still waiting President Aquino for some dramatic action.”
Counterinsurgency
“What is the real root of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, especially of activists? It is the attitude of the military and police that membership in the CPP-NPA [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army] is unlawful. I don’t see any improvement. That attitude still remains in the military and police,” lawyer Manuel Diokno said.
Diokno said that while the military and police established their human rights offices and underwent trainings on human rights, the problem is that they have not changed any of their fundamental practices from the time of martial law.
Baraan shared the same observation. “We know why these happen. The mentality of the military [that states] ‘They are Leftists and therefore, they are enemies.’”
“In the case of Fr. Tentorio, the reports are that he had been branded as leftist, that he’s an advocate against mining operations, he’s helping the masses. If you’re helping the masses, you are perceived as leftist,” Baraan said.
As early as April 2008, Philip Alston, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in his report, ““[T]he military’s counterinsurgency strategy against the CPP/NPA/NDF increasingly focuses on dismantling civil society organizations that are purported to be ‘CPP front groups.’”
Alston pointed out that membership in the CPP is legal, and has been since 1992 when Congress repealed the Anti-Subversion Act.
In 2010, AI called on the Aquino administration to prevent the use of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism to justify human rights violations.
Human rights group Karapatan pointed out that the policy remains under the Aquino’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.
Baraan himself is not convinced that Aquino is doing enough. “Where state agents themselves are the perpetrators or violators, there is the perception that is created, rightly or wrongly, that the state is encouraging or inspiring human rights violations or pursuing it as a policy. That perception should be erased. The problem is, killings continue and that perception persists. It is not enough for Pnoy to say ‘I will not tolerate killings.’ He should say ‘There’s no place for extralegal killings under my administration,’” Baraan said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares said political will is necessary to prosecute crimes of extrajudicial killings.
In its July paper, Human Rights Watch noted that while the public rhetoric of senior military officers has changed somewhat since Aquino took office, the change in language “has not yet been reflected in action.”
“The problem of human rights violations is a systemic problem. It is engraved in a society which does not tolerate dissent. If that is the philosophy of government, that is weakening the institutions, that is weakening society,” Colmenares said.
“We have a democracy in name but not in fact,” Diokno said.
Colmenares said a piecemeal solution is not enough. “The solution should be comprehensive. It cannot be divorced from a social reform package.”
In a statement following Tentorio’s death, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, director of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said, “…[w]e desire to see these killings stop rather than be consoled by the platitudes they [authorities] give in exchange for our grief.”
Meanwhile, thousands wept for Tentorio. His death has revitalized calls for justice in the land he so loved.
This article is a shorter version of the author’s output during the recently concluded 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop. The workshop was organized by the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications in cooperation with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Southeast Asian Press Alliance. This story was awarded as the 2nd Best Story during the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop.
Copyright © 2009 Bulatlat. All rights reserved.
Linda Hornilla, former DOJ undersecretary, shot down Baraan’s proposal. Also speaking to fellows of the workshop, Hornilla said there are confidential information that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would not want the public to know.
“Another thing is the delegation of commander-in-chief authority. This is a huge and enormous power, place it in the hands of a group, not just an individual, that will be a security problem for the military,” Hornilla said.
AI also pushed for legislation that specifically criminalizes enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. Malacanang, however, has not included any of the bills pertaining to the protection of human rights in 12 priority legislative measures in the 15th Congress. Several bills, including the Marcos compensation bill, bills criminalizing enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, a bill for the protection of human rights defenders, among others, continue to gather dust.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, whose party list group filed many of these bills, pointed out the lack of human rights agenda of the Aquino administration. He said bills on human rights are often relegated to the “graveyard shift.”
AI said the government should ensure that the military exercises full control over all state-sponsored militias and paramilitary groups and that the Department of National Defense clearly defines and differentiates their purposes, particularly the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAA), Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO), police auxiliaries, barangay defense forces, chain of command and accountability mechanisms, or otherwise disarm and disband them.
These steps were not taken. AI noted that President Aquino said he had no plans to disband the paramilitary groups, which according to him, act as “force multipliers” for the military and police, including the CAFGUs, SCAA, CVO, police auxiliaries and barangay defense forces.
AI also mentioned the setting up of a national quick response hotline for families of victims of arbitrary or warrantless arrests and enforced disappearances to gain immediate recourse.
CMFR’s Melinda Quintos de Jesus said media groups have proposed to Malacañang a similar measure to address media killings, the formation of a quick response team (QRT) that will be dispatched to places where incidents occurred. “That’s what we’re waiting for. That’s not happening yet.” “We’re still waiting President Aquino for some dramatic action.”
Counterinsurgency
“What is the real root of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, especially of activists? It is the attitude of the military and police that membership in the CPP-NPA [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army] is unlawful. I don’t see any improvement. That attitude still remains in the military and police,” lawyer Manuel Diokno said.
Diokno said that while the military and police established their human rights offices and underwent trainings on human rights, the problem is that they have not changed any of their fundamental practices from the time of martial law.
Baraan shared the same observation. “We know why these happen. The mentality of the military [that states] ‘They are Leftists and therefore, they are enemies.’”
“In the case of Fr. Tentorio, the reports are that he had been branded as leftist, that he’s an advocate against mining operations, he’s helping the masses. If you’re helping the masses, you are perceived as leftist,” Baraan said.
As early as April 2008, Philip Alston, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in his report, ““[T]he military’s counterinsurgency strategy against the CPP/NPA/NDF increasingly focuses on dismantling civil society organizations that are purported to be ‘CPP front groups.’”
Alston pointed out that membership in the CPP is legal, and has been since 1992 when Congress repealed the Anti-Subversion Act.
In 2010, AI called on the Aquino administration to prevent the use of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism to justify human rights violations.
Human rights group Karapatan pointed out that the policy remains under the Aquino’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.
Baraan himself is not convinced that Aquino is doing enough. “Where state agents themselves are the perpetrators or violators, there is the perception that is created, rightly or wrongly, that the state is encouraging or inspiring human rights violations or pursuing it as a policy. That perception should be erased. The problem is, killings continue and that perception persists. It is not enough for Pnoy to say ‘I will not tolerate killings.’ He should say ‘There’s no place for extralegal killings under my administration,’” Baraan said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares said political will is necessary to prosecute crimes of extrajudicial killings.
In its July paper, Human Rights Watch noted that while the public rhetoric of senior military officers has changed somewhat since Aquino took office, the change in language “has not yet been reflected in action.”
“The problem of human rights violations is a systemic problem. It is engraved in a society which does not tolerate dissent. If that is the philosophy of government, that is weakening the institutions, that is weakening society,” Colmenares said.
“We have a democracy in name but not in fact,” Diokno said.
Colmenares said a piecemeal solution is not enough. “The solution should be comprehensive. It cannot be divorced from a social reform package.”
In a statement following Tentorio’s death, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, director of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said, “…[w]e desire to see these killings stop rather than be consoled by the platitudes they [authorities] give in exchange for our grief.”
Meanwhile, thousands wept for Tentorio. His death has revitalized calls for justice in the land he so loved.
This article is a shorter version of the author’s output during the recently concluded 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop. The workshop was organized by the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications in cooperation with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Southeast Asian Press Alliance. This story was awarded as the 2nd Best Story during the 15th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop.
Copyright © 2009 Bulatlat. All rights reserved.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Key ally: PNoy stand on FOI shows indifference to 'boss'
By Cong B. Corrales
Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” R. Tañada, III, principal author of the Freedom of Information bill, told reporters during a visit here Friday of his dismay over Aquino’s indifference to the measure when “it is supposed to be the cornerstone of his governance slogan.”
“What’s so sad is that President Aquino believes the people will not be responsible enough to handle public information,” Tanada said. “The citizens are ready to receive information for them to make informed decisions.”
At an open forum with Southeast Asian business leaders in late September, Aquino said: “A Freedom of Information Act sounds so good and noble but at the same time, first of all, you’ll notice that here in this country there’s a tendency of getting information and not really utilizing it for the proper purposes.”
The Philippine Press Institute, in a 19-page position paper drafted during a forum on the FOI bill in mid-October, accused Aquino of being “childish in handling the issue and warned him to stop underestimating the press” and demanded the measure’s immediate passage and enactment.
Tanada also brushed off Aquino’s apprehensions that media would abuse an FOI law.
“I believe (the Philippine) media is responsible. They know what is right and wrong. The so-called irresponsible media (practitioners) are only a few. Without access to information, reportage of government issues will be open to speculations and tend to be sensationalized,” the Deputy Speaker, who represents Quezon province, said.
In an emailed reply to questions, lawyer Nepomuceno Malalulan, lead convenor of the Right to Know, Right Now Network, said the FOI bill is practically gathering dust in the public information committees of both the House and the Senate because of “Malacañang’s creation of a study group to address President Aquino’s concerns.”
“Rep. Tañada consulted with the study group and in the process stalled the committee process, in the hope of getting the executive concurrence on a common version. I think that the Senate also waited for the result of the study,” Malaluan said.
However Aquino did not endorse the study group’s proposed amendments “when it was presented to him before the second LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council),” Malaluan said.
The Right to Know, Right Now Network, a coalition of organizations and individuals from various sectors, has been at the forefront of the campaign to pass the FOI bill. It posits that the “public considers access to official information is still so complicated and lengthy for the layperson that by the time the information it needs is released, it may no longer be needed.”
Stressing the importance of having an FOI law, Tanada cited the recent clash between government troops and the MILF in Basilan that left 19 Special Forces troops dead.
He said most of the reports were speculative because vital public information was not readily available.
For his part, Malaluan said the “challenge now is for Congress to proceed even without (Aquino’s) inclusion of FOI in his legislative priorities.”
“Senator (Gregorio) Honasan has given his commitment to proceed. We are hoping that will have a committee report ready soon,” he added.
But Malaluan said they have not had a similar commitment from the Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, who chairs the House public information committee.
“We are still trying to set a meeting with House Speaker (Feliciano) Belmonte (Jr.) to appeal to him to allow the committee process to proceed, similar to the Senate,” Malaluan said.
He said the House held one committee hearing on November 23 last year during which Tanada was named chair of the Technical Working Group.
“The TWG met last February 3 and Rep. Tanada has submitted to the committee chair his proposed consolidation of the bills. The Senate has held two hearings, the first on October 14, 2010 and the second was last August 8, this year,” Malaluan said.
Despite the seemingly bleak prospects for the FOI’s passage, Tanada said he remains optimistic.
“We did it in the 14th Congress. I feel we can do it again,” he said.
He added the “committee on public information needs only to set the FOI bill as an agenda (item) when we resume.”
“He (Aquino) has to understand that, even as he keeps on saying his administration is transparent, this institutional reform is not for his term because we don’t know if the next administration will be as transparent as Aquino’s,” Tanada said.
InterAksyon.com
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (05 Nov 2011, 12:15 PM)- It is ironic for President Benigno Aquino III to continue professing that the Filipino people are his “boss” when it is becoming apparent he continues to underestimate them, a key ally said here Friday.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (05 Nov 2011, 12:15 PM)- It is ironic for President Benigno Aquino III to continue professing that the Filipino people are his “boss” when it is becoming apparent he continues to underestimate them, a key ally said here Friday.
Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” R. Tañada, III, principal author of the Freedom of Information bill, told reporters during a visit here Friday of his dismay over Aquino’s indifference to the measure when “it is supposed to be the cornerstone of his governance slogan.”
“What’s so sad is that President Aquino believes the people will not be responsible enough to handle public information,” Tanada said. “The citizens are ready to receive information for them to make informed decisions.”
At an open forum with Southeast Asian business leaders in late September, Aquino said: “A Freedom of Information Act sounds so good and noble but at the same time, first of all, you’ll notice that here in this country there’s a tendency of getting information and not really utilizing it for the proper purposes.”
The Philippine Press Institute, in a 19-page position paper drafted during a forum on the FOI bill in mid-October, accused Aquino of being “childish in handling the issue and warned him to stop underestimating the press” and demanded the measure’s immediate passage and enactment.
Tanada also brushed off Aquino’s apprehensions that media would abuse an FOI law.
“I believe (the Philippine) media is responsible. They know what is right and wrong. The so-called irresponsible media (practitioners) are only a few. Without access to information, reportage of government issues will be open to speculations and tend to be sensationalized,” the Deputy Speaker, who represents Quezon province, said.
In an emailed reply to questions, lawyer Nepomuceno Malalulan, lead convenor of the Right to Know, Right Now Network, said the FOI bill is practically gathering dust in the public information committees of both the House and the Senate because of “Malacañang’s creation of a study group to address President Aquino’s concerns.”
“Rep. Tañada consulted with the study group and in the process stalled the committee process, in the hope of getting the executive concurrence on a common version. I think that the Senate also waited for the result of the study,” Malaluan said.
However Aquino did not endorse the study group’s proposed amendments “when it was presented to him before the second LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council),” Malaluan said.
The Right to Know, Right Now Network, a coalition of organizations and individuals from various sectors, has been at the forefront of the campaign to pass the FOI bill. It posits that the “public considers access to official information is still so complicated and lengthy for the layperson that by the time the information it needs is released, it may no longer be needed.”
Stressing the importance of having an FOI law, Tanada cited the recent clash between government troops and the MILF in Basilan that left 19 Special Forces troops dead.
He said most of the reports were speculative because vital public information was not readily available.
For his part, Malaluan said the “challenge now is for Congress to proceed even without (Aquino’s) inclusion of FOI in his legislative priorities.”
“Senator (Gregorio) Honasan has given his commitment to proceed. We are hoping that will have a committee report ready soon,” he added.
But Malaluan said they have not had a similar commitment from the Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, who chairs the House public information committee.
“We are still trying to set a meeting with House Speaker (Feliciano) Belmonte (Jr.) to appeal to him to allow the committee process to proceed, similar to the Senate,” Malaluan said.
He said the House held one committee hearing on November 23 last year during which Tanada was named chair of the Technical Working Group.
“The TWG met last February 3 and Rep. Tanada has submitted to the committee chair his proposed consolidation of the bills. The Senate has held two hearings, the first on October 14, 2010 and the second was last August 8, this year,” Malaluan said.
Despite the seemingly bleak prospects for the FOI’s passage, Tanada said he remains optimistic.
“We did it in the 14th Congress. I feel we can do it again,” he said.
He added the “committee on public information needs only to set the FOI bill as an agenda (item) when we resume.”
“He (Aquino) has to understand that, even as he keeps on saying his administration is transparent, this institutional reform is not for his term because we don’t know if the next administration will be as transparent as Aquino’s,” Tanada said.
First published in InterAksyon.com.
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