Coloma favors live broadcast of Ampatuan trial over gov't stations

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. said Thursday he will allow the airing of the live coverage of the Maguindanao massacre trial over government-owned broadcast stations should the proposal for the live broadcast be approved by the Supreme Court (SC). Coloma said he supports the clamor of media organizations for the Supreme Court to allow the live coverage of the hearing on the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town. "I join the clamor to make the court proceedings open to the public through media coverage… We are offering the service of government media to be able to bring the coverage of the trial to the people," he said in a forum in Quezon City on Thursday. He specifically cited television station NBN-4 and radio station dzRB as channels through which the court proceedings can be aired. Coloma, whose office has direct supervision over government-owned stations, said that airing the massacre trial live over radio and television will help inform the public more on the developments of the court proceedings. "I think this is one of the ways to speed up the trial and also bring to bear the force of public opinion in bringing justice to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre," he said. On Wednesday, no less than President Benigno Aquino III expressed his support for the proposal for the live coverage of massacre trial, saying that it would educate the public on the matter. (See: Aquino backs clamor for live coverage of Ampatuan trial) That same day, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also said the Palace plans to send a formal letter to the SC informing the high court about the president's opinion on the matter. Earlier, families of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre — the gruesome killing of 57 people in Ampatuan town — along with media groups urged the high court to review the ruling that bars the live media coverage of the multiple murder trial. An order from the high court currently bans the use of cellular phones, cameras, laptop computers, and even simple recording devices inside the make-shift court room at Camp Bagong Diwa City in Taguig City where the hearings on the cases against the massacre suspects are being heard. — RSJ, GMANews.TV