Senators threaten media with law limiting crisis coverage

(Updated 12:56 a.m. Wednesday) Senators warned the broadcast media on Tuesday that they must impose "limitations" on their coverage of events such as the bloody August 23 hostage tragedy, lest they tempt Congress to pass a law that would restrict media's freedom. "Don’t tempt us to use our powers here," warned Sen. Joker Arroyo, a former human rights lawyer during the Marcos dictatorship, at a Senate inquiry on Tuesday on the role that the broadcast media played during the Manila bus siege that ended with nine dead, including eight tourists from Hong Kong. "You must know when to stop. You must know the limits of what you should do," Arroyo scolded media executives from four major broadcast companies. Arroyo, who requested for the Senate inquiry, said Congress has oversight powers over the broadcast media because it granted media their franchises. "When you accept a franchise that is a limitation. This franchise is subject to changes and repeal by this Congress," he said during the hearing. Arroyo specifically cited Section 12 of Republic Act 7966, which says that Congress may enact a general broadcast policy law. "We cannot give foreign media the same or superior right that we don't grant to local media," he said.
'Instrument of Mendoza' The broadcast media, along with the police, have been widely criticized over the August 23 massacre. The hostage-taker, dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, allegedly became agitated after seeing the arrest of his brother, also a policeman, on live television Toward the end of an 11-hour standoff, just after his brother's arrest, Mendoza went on a shooting rampage. Aside from the eight tourists, Mendoza himself was killed. President Benigno Aquino III had earlier said the media’s live coverage of the hostage incident severely hampered rescue operations. Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has also said that the live coverage robbed police of the element of surprise in dealing with the hostage-taker. "You were the instrument of Mendoza... (He) would not have succeeded if you were not there," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile told television executives during the inquiry. Admission and defense Television executives admitted the media's shortcomings during the hostage-taking incident. "Ina-acknowledge natin na (We acknowledge that) we would have done better," said GMA Network Vice-President for News Programs Jessica Soho in an interview after the inquiry. However, she objected to using broadcast franchises to control the media. She said that a franchise is just permission to use the airwaves, which are actually public property. Soho said the national interest would not be served if the government attempts to control the media. Soho mentioned that GMA already has existing rules prohibiting its employees from conducting interviews with hostage-takers, and recently issued new coverage guidelines in response to the hostage tragedy. Another network executive, GMA assistant vice president for news operations Grace dela Peña-Reyes, also admitted that the August 23 coverage of the hostage crisis "may not be the best example" of how the network handles crisis situations. She however added that national interest and journalistic principles should not clash in these instances. "We serve public interest best if we do our job and report the news as accurately, fairly, objectively and completely as possible," she said. ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs head Maria Ressa said during the hearing that they never expected that authorities would not be in control of the crisis situation. She said the police failed to create a functioning chain of command that would set the parameters on where the media should go. "In all situations, the police and authorities have always set the parameters," she said. Affected by ratings? Arroyo asked the network executives if television ratings were a factor in the way they handled the coverage of the hostage crisis. Soho said she personally did not have ratings in mind while she was supervising the coverage of the incident. "I will not deny that ratings are very important to us, but I believe that on August 23, I was not thinking about that. I was more focused on making sure that we were able to follow the latest of the events," she said during the inquiry. TV 5 News executive Luchi Cruz-Valdez meanwhile said that the media "does not take pleasure" in covering such "gruesome" events. “We are not blood-thirsty. We are not. It is just a fact of life that gruesome stories happen everyday," she said. Possible legislation? Enrile asked the television executives whether they would comply with a law that would authorize security authorities to intervene in media operations if there are crises similar to the August 23 hostage incident. All the television representatives answered in the negative, with Ressa pointing out that the dangers of legislation are "very clear" because it would curtail the freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution. "We must look at this in context. The reason they (the public) turn to media is because they feel powerless," she said. Senator Gregorio Honasan, who headed the Senate inquiry, said they are not yet sure whether they would craft a bill that would regulate the media during crisis situations. He noted, however, that they might make media franchises "more detailed." Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto, meanwhile, said he is considering filing a bill that would disallow media from interviewing hostage-takers. Arroyo added that the local media's sharing of video of the hostage-taking with foreign media put the country in a "bad light" in the eyes of the international community. He specifically cited ABS-CBN, which is the broadcast partner of international news channel CNN. TV5 admitted that they were recently affiliated with the CNN but that they did not provide them any video on August 23. Also present during the hearing were GMA reporter Susan Enriquez; TV5 news executive David Jude (DJ) Sta. Ana; TV5 news reporter Erwin Tulfo and Radyo Mo Nationwide (RMN) anchor Michael Rogas, who interviewed Mendoza during the crucial moments of the crisis. - with Andreo Calonzo/VVP/HS/KBK, GMANews.TV