SC urged to approve live media coverage of Ampatuan trial

Families of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre in 2009, along with media groups, urged the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday to review the ruling that bars the live media coverage of the multiple murder trial. According to the relatives of the 57 persons killed in the massacre on November 23, 2009, they will file on November 18 a formal petition questioning the SC ruling. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Lawyer Rachel Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center said it would be a "breakthrough" if the high court would grant their petition to do away with a jurisprudence or resolution that restricts media coverage to protect the rights of the defendant. "We are calling for a review of existing jurisprudence on live coverage and based its ruling on current conditions and needs," Pastores said. Due to the Supreme Court order, cellular phones, cameras, laptop computers, and even simple recording devices are not allowed to be brought inside the make-shift court room at Camp Bagong Diwa City in Taguig City. The case is being heard by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221. Jurisprudence on live media coverage The SC issued this jurisprudence or "Administrative Matter" (A.M.) barring live media coverage of trials: A.M. No. 01-04-03-SC Re: Request for Radio-TV Coverage of the Trial in the Sandiganbayan of the Plunder Cases against Former Pres. Joseph E. Estrada, Secretary of Justice Hernando Perez, Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, et al. v. Joseph E. Estrada and Integrated Bar of the Philippines; June 29, 2001, September 13, 2001, and March 14, 2006. "Unlike other government offices, courts do not express the popular will of the people in any sense which, instead, are tasked to only adjudicate justiciable controversies on the basis of what alone is submitted before them. A trial is not a free trade of ideas, Nor is a competing market of thoughts the known test of truth in a courtroom," the SC said in the jurisprudence. "The Court is not all that umnindful of recent technological and scientific advances but to chance forthwith the life or liberty of any person in a hasty bid to use and apply them, even before ample safety nets are provided and the concerns heretofore expressed are aptly addressed, is a price too high to pay," the SC added. Tighter rules Initially, cameramen were allowed to take pictures and footage of the court room before the start of each hearing. However, in the last few months, the court tightened the rules further and restricted cameramen from entering the court room. Pastores argued that live media coverage would save the families of the 57 victims, who live in different parts of Mindanao, time and money as they have been travelling back and forth to Manila just to attend the hearings. "Maraming paraan naman diyan bukod sa pagpigil sa live coverage, given there is the technology to control the proceedings," Pastores said. To prevent commotion caused by too many cameramen during the trial, Pastores said the court could allow just one "pooled" camera inside the court room that would feed the live footage to all the broadcast networks outside. For "very critical" witnesses who risk getting threats due to their testimony, Pastores said the court could just coordinate with the media companies to ensure that the witnesses identities would be concealed from the public. The lawyer said they were still "finalizing" the list of petitioners for their move, saying until now more journalists are still adding their names to the petition to support the cause. Media coverage fine but... Meanwhile, Pastores lauded the media because even if broadcast media firms are being barred from airing live coverages of the hearing, journalists still manage to cover news report accurately. "Pero hindi naman lahat nagbabasa ng news sa diyaryo. Usually, middle class lang ang nagbabasa. Paano naman ang mahihirap," she added. (Not everyone reads reports on newspapers. Usually, only the middle class read [news]. What about the poor?) She said not everything that happens during trial gets a space in the newspapers, saying: "Hindi naman enough ang mga summary lang sa diyaryo (Summaries on newspapers are not enough)." She added that live broadcasts on television and radio could still reach a wider audience that newspapers. Live coverages for the high-profile multiple murder case had been barred ever since the proceedings began with bail hearings at Camp Crame in Quezon City in January this year. The hearings were later transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa as the trial proper started in September. Maguindanao massacre The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre, occurred on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province in Mindanao. At the time, the massacre victims were on their way to file Esmael Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor. Mangudadatu, then Buluan vice mayor, won the gubernatorial post during the May 10 polls. The 57 people who were brutally killed and buried in a mass grave in Ampatuan town included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy. – with Sophie Dedace, VVP, GMANews.TV