It has been reported in Philippine newspapers that both the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives are bent on passing into law a controversial bill. The “Right of Reply” bill mandates that any party who feels aggrieved or offended by any material published or broadcast in any form of media should be allotted the same space or airtime to publish or broadcast his or her own reply within a specific period at no cost.
The Senate, voting 21-0 passed the bill which also stipulates penalties that include fines and possible imprisonment if the media involved fails to comply. The question now arises – Is there any sense in having such a law?
Media groups claim that the “Right of Reply” bill is unconstitutional as it breaches freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
While journalists try their best to get both sides of any story, it remains the prerogative of the editor, publisher or producer to decide what to publish or what to broadcast.
When proven in court, libel laws in the
Personally, this writer believes that legislators have no right to impose editorial judgment on the media industry.
Proponents of the proposed law appear to hide under the guise of fairness because Philippine media is often critical of the government. If it were not for the vigilance of media, the Bolante case, the Euro Generals, the NBN-ZTE deal would never have reached the public.
Philippine Tribune recognises the fact that people are quick to judge based on what they read in the papers or what they hear on radio. We cannot deny the fact that editors and publishers may from time to time have their own interests. Being aware of this, we do our best to adhere to basic principles of journalism. – DMC ?