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Media groups discuss SC ruling on Maguindanao massacre trial live coverage


Several media organizations met on Thursday to discuss their next move after the Supreme Court (SC) allowed the live media coverage of the Maguindanao massacre trial under supposedly stringent guidelines. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), which organized the meeting in Quezon City, expressed concerns that the SC guideline for nonstop coverage of the trial might discourage media outfits to air the court proceedings. NUJP secretary general Rowena Paraan said the high court ruling might also meddle with the editorial prerogative of broadcast networks, GMA News’ Connie Sision reported over GMA News TV’s “News To Go." Lawyer Romeo Capulong, who drafted one of the petitions approved by the SC, said that while the approval of the live coverage of the Maguindanao massacre trial was only a “partial" victory, media outfits should give the guidelines set by the high court a chance. The SC, in a 12-0 vote, allowed on Monday the live media coverage of the trial, provided that the proceedings will be aired in its entirety. The court’s decision applies to the Maguindanao massacre trial only. SC spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said the high court set the guidelines to let the public decide and see for themselves the entire proceedings" after prosecution lawyer Harry Roque criticized the ruling for supposedly curtailing freedom of the press. A total of 198 people have been accused of involvement in the killing of 57 people in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009, a crime that shocked world. Among those accused are members of the powerful Ampatuan clan, including its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., a former Maguindanao governor; his sons Andal Jr., former Datu Unsay town mayor; Sajid, former officer-in-charge of the province; and Zaldy, suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Among those killed in what is considered the worst case of political violence in the country were 32 journalists and relatives and supporters of current Maguindanao Governor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu. The victims were on the electoral convoy that was on its way to the provincial capitol to file Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy. The massacre involved the biggest number of slain journalists ever recorded in a single day. — LBG, GMA News

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