REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4287

House Bill No.

Introduced by Kabataan Party-List Representative Raymond V, Palatino and
Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Teddy A. Casiiio

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The campus press has an invaluable contribution in the restoration and preservation of
free speech and expression inside and outside our nation's campuses. As early as the periods of
Spanish, American and Japanese Occupations, campus journalists have braved repressive
conditions in order to expose the grim realities under a colonial government. During the

tumultuous decades under Martial Law, campus publications served as the alternative press as

Proclamation 1081 imposed state censorship and ordered the closure of major dailies, television
and radio stations, and even community papers. As part of the altemative press, campus
publications countered State propaganda and fought for the espousal of truth that pierced through
the maelstrom of the political and economic injustices of the time.

From the campus press also came prominent and notable figures in Philippine politics,
media

their respective fields. The campus press instilled in many of them the hunger for truth and social

art, literature and business who, in one way or another, have contributed significantly to

change that served as the first stirrings of their nationalist consciousness. Among the known

products of the campus press are Amado V. Hemandez, Wenceslao Vinzons, Emesto Rodriguez
Jn, Armando Malay, Renato Constantino. Elmer Ordonez, Homobono Adaza, Ramon V. Mitra,
Leonardo Quisimbing, Luis Teodoro, Antonio Tagamolila, Abraham Sarmiento Jr, Malou
Mangahas, Artemio Panganiban, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Helena Z. Benitez, Rolando
Tolentino, Satur Ocampo, Joe Taruc, and many others. But more importantly, the campus press.
produced many nameless and faceless heroes who not only used the pen to hone their skills but to

write narratives that “hurt” the powers-that-be.


In many campuses today, student publications that continue to uphold and preserve their

thrust as an alternative media act as vanguards of academic freedom. Firm and resolute in their
role as beacons of truth and critical thinking, these student publications publish news that do not
often see print in mainstream publications, editorials that tackle the social ills plaguing the nation,
and articles that interrogate the status quo. In particular, student publications like the Philippine
Collegian of the University of the Philippines Diliman, The Torch of the Philippine Normal
University, The Catalyst of the Polytechinic University of the Philippines and several others are
able to openly and comprehensively discuss sexuality, armed conflict and other topics often
branded as taboo inside the academe.

‘The campus press is regarded as a concrete manifestation of the students’ democratic
rights and a tangible expression of press freedom in campus. Through it, students are able to
practice their rights to freedom of expression and information, rights that are protected by the
1987 Constitution. It is an institution that is collectively run, managed and financed by the
students. It does not exist for commercial purposes unlike the mainstream press that depends
primarily on advertisements as its lifeblood. While there are some student publications that resort
to advertisements in order to generate additional finds, majority of campus publications
throughout the country rely on the collection of student fees to maintain their operations.

Because the students are its sole publishers, the campus press is expected to uphold the
interests of the students amid various issues such as the incessant and unabated tuition and other
fees increases, repressive student policies, militarization of campuses, and various assaults to their
democratic rights. However, it also recognizes that the problems that beset the studentry is not
isolated from the travails of other marginalized sectors of society. It does not discriminate
between local and national issues because it recognizes that the studentry and the community

outside our schools and universities are hounded by the same political and economic

contradictions. It is not only a reflection of student opinion, but

also the voice of a multitude.

It is therefore not surprising to find student journalists in conflict with institutions who
use their authority to quell free speech and expression. Many student editors and writers have
been persecuted throughout history, especially during the 60s, 70s and 80s when nationalist
thoughts were dismissed as threats to the goverment. Today, student journalists continue to face
the same dilemma despite the freedoms and rights enshrined in our Constitution, Student
journalists who are critical of the government's policies are being tagged by the military as
enemies of State, openly incriminating them to a grand plot to overthrow the government.

Student publications and editors are being tagged as subversives and incorporated into the Armed


Forces of the Philippine's order of battle, placing their lives in grave danger.

Meanwhile, student journalists also experience harassment especially in their own
backyard. The adversarial relationship between the campus press and schoo! administration is
due largely to the latter's imposition of anti-student policies borne out of the commercialized and
repressive character of our education system. While the school administration abides by the
dictates of state abandonment, the campus press struggles for students rights by boldly exposing
these anti-student policies and condemning both the national and school administration's policies
of commercialization and privatization. This inherent conflict between the campus press and the
school administration gives rise to various forms of campus press freedom violations. The student
journalists are placed at the mercy of school authorities, who have at their discretion the power to
determine the student's fate inside the educational institution,

It is simply preposterous that campus press freedom violations exist despite our

constitutionally-guaranteed rights to free speech and expression. Yet, itis even more enraging that
the existing law governing the existence and operations of campus publications in the country is
at fault for these assaults to campus press freedom.

Republic Act No. 7079, otherwise known as the Campus Journalism.Act of 1991, was
enacted on July 5, 1991 to supposedly uphold and protect the freedom of the press at the campus
level and to promote the development and growth of campus journalism, as stated in its
declaration of policies. While it has some strong provisions, the seriously-flawed Campus
Journalism Act has been found to be insufficient and lacking in material aspects to fully maintain
the existence of the campus press, and protect the rights and welfare of student journalists. In the
hands of devious school administrators, the Campus Journalism Act places in jeopardy the

existens

of campus publications nationwide. Some of the weaknesses of the law are:

(1) It legalizes the non-mandatory collection of publication fee, which is considered as the
lifeblood of any student publication. The law does not contain any provision that would mandate
school administrations to collect student publication funds. Instead, it only enumerates the
sources where the student publication funds may be taken.

(2) While Section 7 of the law supposedly gives freedom and space for student journalists
to write without fear of any threat of suspension or expulsion, the qualification made by the
Supreme Court on the said provision by providing exemptions has rendered the security on
tenure provision practically useless. The exemptions, namely, “material disruption of class work
or involving substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others” are too broad that even a
simple factual article may fall within its application.


(3) The law does not make it mandatory for all colleges and universities in the Philippines
to establish student publications. Neither does the said law require that those student publications
that remain closed until the present date should be re-opened for the benefit of the students.

(4) The law does not contain a penalty clause, leaving erring administrations unscathed.
School administrations are able to commit offense after offense yet suffer no retribution due to
the absence of a penalty provision.

(5) The Department of Education, Culture and Sports Order No. 94,

ries of 1992, the

implementing rules and regulations of the law, contains simply guidelines on the implementation
of its provisions with the additional rules on jurisdiction over cases that may arise from violations
of the said law. As the implementing rules and regulations cannot lawfully narrow or restrict and.
expand, broaden, or enlarge the provisions of the law, DECS Order No. 1994 naturally carries the
weaknesses of Campus Journalism Act of 1991.

Given these inherent flaws in the law,

no surprise that the enactment of Campus
Journalism Act of 1991 resulted to even more campus press freedom violations that are even
more clever and devious in form. According to the College Editors Guild of the Philippines
(CEGP), the oldest and broadest intercollegiate alliance of student publications in the country,
several student publications were suddenly closed after the passage of the said law, including
three major student publications in the country, namely, The Quezonian of the Manuel L. Quezon
University, Ang Pamantasan of the Pamantasan ng Maynila, and The White and Blue of the St.
Louis University.

Based on the cases documented by the CEGP since 1992, student publications nationwide
faced systematic assaults including the following: (1) harassment of student writers and editors;
(2) meddling with editorial policies; (3) actual censorship of editorial content; (4) withholding of
publication funds; (5) non-collection of publication fee; (6) padlocking of the publication office;
(7) closure of the student publi

jon; (8) suspension and expulsion of student editors and writers;
and (9) filing of libel charges against them. As of last April 2010, CEGP has document 204
campus press freedom violations nationwide from 42 respondent publications.

Severals bills have been filed during the 10th and 11th Congresses secking to amend the
Campus Journalism Act. Although the House of Representatives has recognized the flaws of the
law, the proposed amendments by several legislators focused only on the financial aspect of the
Campus Journalism Act and still fail to address the roots of campus press freedom violations.

This bill, thus, seeks to repeal the Campus Journalism Act of 1991—a Sword of

Damocles that has been hanging over the campus press for several decades now—and replace it


with a law that genuinely upholds campus press freedom. While the authors of this bill recognize
that R.A. 7079 has some good provisions, the provisions of this loophole-riddled law have been
subjected to malevolent interpretation and have been used to kill the student press.

In light of the foregoing, the passage of this bil

is carnestly sought.

Adopted,

HON. ai ND V. PALATINO.
Representative, Kabataan Party-list

eA

i. TEDDY A. CASINO
Representative, Bayan Muna Party-List


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

87

House Bill No.

Introduced by Kabataan Party-List Representative Raymond V. Palatino and
Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Teddy A. Casifio

ANACT
UPHOLDING AND PROMOTING CAMPUS JOURNALISM AND CAMPUS
PRESS FREEDOM, REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO.
7079, ENTITLED “AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND
PROMOTION OF CAMPUS JOURNALISM”, AND PENALIZING VIOLATIONS
AGAINST CAMPUS PRESS FREEDOM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This act shall be known as the “Campus Press Freedom Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to promote the
development and growth of campus journalism as a means of encouraging critical and creative
thinking and as a beacon of nationalism and democracy inside and outside the nation’s

campuses,

The State also firmly recognizes the historic role and contribution of the campus press to press
freedom in the country, in providing a free and adequate venue for the discussion of student
concerns, and in upholding social consciousness and defending the interest and welfare of the
Filipino people by tackling both national and sectoral issues in its pages. The State realizes that
the campus press, as part of the media, is an important institution in society that promotes and
protects this constitutionally afforded right of press freedom.

‘The State thus resolves to undertake various programs and projects aimed at improving the


Joumalistic skills of students concemed, promote responsible and free journalism, re-open all
closed student publications, establish student publications in schools where there are none, and
protect and uphold freedom of the press at the campus level and the rights of campus
journalists at all times.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. —For purposes of this Act, the following are hereby defined

as follows:

(a) “Schoo?” — an institution for learning in the elementary, secondary or tertiary level
composed of the studentry, administration, faculty and non-faculty personnel;

(b) “Student” — any person enrolled in elementary, secondary, post secondary tertiary,
graduate and post graduate levels, including those enrolled in vocational and technical
education;

(©) “Student publication” — the issue of any printed and/or online material such as, but not
limited to, newspapers, wall news, literary folios, newsletters and other similar forms,
independently published by, and which meets the needs and interests of, the students;

(@) “Student journalist” — any bona fide student enrolled for the current semester or term,
who has passed or met the qualification and standards of the editorial board;

(©) “Editorial board” — shall be composed of student journalists who have qualified in
placement examinations and shall be primarily in-charge of setting the tone of the paper
in accordance to the thrust of the publication. The editorial board may include a
publication adviser at the option of its members;

(f) “Editorial policies” — a set of guidelines by which a student publication is operated and
managed, taking into account pertinent laws as well as the school administration's
reasonable policies. The said guidelines, which shall be created and determined by the
editorial board, shall determine the frequency of the publication, the manner of
selecting articles and features and other similar matters;

(8) “Editor-in-chief — shall be the publication’s primary editor chosen through a
competitive but fair selection process. The process of selecting the editor-in-chief shall
be determined by the student body;

SECTION 4. Student Publication. — All educational institutions on the elementary, secondary

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and tertiary levels, public or private shall be mandated to establish a student publication. Every
school shall have at least one (1) student publication without prejudice to other publications
established within the campus. A student publication shall be published by the student body
through an editorial board and publication staff composed of students selected through fair and

competitive examinations.

All student publications whose operations ceased upon the directives of the school
administration shall be revived and allowed to operate again.

‘Once the publication is established or reopened, the editorial board shall freely determine its
editorial policies and manage the publication’s funds.

SECTION 5. Qperations. — The school administration shall provide the student publication
with an office preferably located at the school’s student center and other materials and

equipment necessary for its operations.

SECTION 6. Independence. — The student publication shall be autonomous from any form of
administrative intervention with regard to the handling of its funds, the content of the articles
the editorial board chooses to publish, the selection of its publication staff and members of the
editorial board.

The operations of the student publications shall not be delayed, suspended or closed down in
connection with the articles it has published, or on the basis of the conduct or performance of
its staff without due process.

SECTION 7. Funding of Student Publications. — Funding for the student publication shall be
sourced primarily from student publication fees collected by the school administration. It shall
be mandatory for the school administration to collect student publication/subscription fees
during the enrollment period. The members of the student publication can opt to collect the
publication funds themselves upon their initiative and under their full discretion and without
administrative intervention. Secondary sources of publication funds shall also include the
savings of the respective school’s appropriations.

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For this purpose, the number of bona fide students enrolled for the current semester or term
shall be used as basis for the amount of publication funds that shall be released by the school
administrator who shall issue a list of the students enrolled for the current semester or term to
the editorial board.

SECTION 8. Transmittal of Funds. — The school administration shall effect the automatic
release of the student subscription fees to the student publication within fifteen (15) days after
the last day of enrollment. The publication funds shall be deposited through a trust fund or in
the account of the student publication in an authorized depositary bank.

In no instance shall the Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority, and the Department of Education, as the case may be, or the school
administration concemed withhold the release of funds intended for the student publication.

SECTION 9. Publication Adviser. — The editorial board shall have the discretion whether or
not they would appoint a faculty adviser. In case the student publication decides to appoint a
faculty adviser, the editorial board shall have the power to choose its faculty adviser, whose
functions shall be li
shall mean any concem related to the grammatical concems, proofreading and the like.

ited merely to technical assistance. Technical assistance of faculty adviser

SECTION 10. Security of Tenwe.—A member of the publication staff shall maintain his or
her status as student in order to retain membership in the publication staff. The student
Journalist shall not be suspended, expelled or punished with administrative sanctions solely on
the basis of the articles he or she has written except when such articles constitute a violation of
the law, and the school’s valid and reasonable schools and regulations.

His or her performance as a student should not be used as basis for his or her dismissal from
the student publication,

SECTION 11. Press Conferences and Training Seminars. — The Commission on Higher
education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of

4


Education, in partnership with media and campus press organizations and alliances, shall
sponsor periodic competitions, press conferences and training seminars in which student-
editors/writers and teacher-adviser of student publications in the elementary, secondary and
tertiary levels shall participate. Such competitions, conferences and seminars shall be held at
the institutional, divisional, and regional levels, culminating with the holding of the annual
national elementary, secondary or tertiary School Press Conference in places of historical
and/or cultural interest in the country.

SECTION 12. Powers and Functions of the Editorial Board. ~ The Editorial Board shall
have the power to select the staff members of the publication granted that the student
journalists the board selected were able to pass a qualifying examination.

‘The editorial board shall also be primarily accountable with regard the operation of the student
publication and the management of its funds. At the end of each semester or term, as the case
may be, the editorial board shall prepare a report on the disbursement of funds subject to
accounting and auditing rules. Such report shall be posted at the school’s bulletin board or
published in the school publication.

SECTION 13. Printing of the Student Publication. — ‘The printing of the student publication.
shall be conducted by the editorial board and the student publication staff through canvass or
public bidding. For public schools, the student publication shall be exempted from undergoing
formal and bidding process under Republic Act 9184 also known as the Procurement Reform
Act with regard the selection of a printing press and the purchase of equipment and materials
necessary for its operations. The editorial board shall freely choose the printing press it wants

to avail the services of.

SECTION 14. Power to Investigate. —‘The Commission on Higher Education, the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Department of Education, as the case
may be, shall be granted the power to investigate any violation of this act and its implementing
rules and regulations.

SECTION 15. Administrative Sanctions. — The Commission on Higher Education, the

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‘Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Department of Education, as
the case may be shall impose administrative sanctions for these campus press freedom
violations, including, but not limited to: interrogation and intimidation of editors and staff
members and other forms of harassment by the school administration, faculty members and the
military, such as, but not limited to, sending of death threats, filing of libel cases against student
journalists, issuance of derogatory and libelous public statements against student journalists;
meddling of school administrators with editorial policies; actual censorship of editorial content;
withholding and non-collection of publication fees; expulsion and suspension of student editors
and writers without due process; stopping or suspending the operations of the school
publication such as, but not limited to, the outright closure of the publication, locking of the
publication office, cutting the electricity and water supplies and other utilities of the office;
non-establishment of at least one (1) campus publication for every school; refusal to reopen
closed student publications.

SECTION 16. Legal Assistance to Campus Journalists. ~ The Commission on Higher
education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of
Education, as the case may be, shall provide legal assistance to student journalists in all cases

as herein cited.

SECTION 17. Reportorial Requirements. — The Commission on Higher education, the
‘Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of Education shall
submit an annual report to both houses of Congress on the status of the implementation of the
law including violations thereof and the disposition of pertinent cases.

SECTION 18. Penalties. — Any person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain or coerce
any student publication/student journalist in the exercise of its/his/her functions and rights
guaranteed by this act or who shalll in any other manner commit any act to defeat any provision
of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than P100,00 but not more
than P200,000 or imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than five (5) years,
or both at the discretion of the court or both upon conviction.

If the offender is an educational institution or a juridical person, the penalty shall be imposed

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upon the president, treasurer or secretary or any officer responsible for the violation. For

private educational institutions, the school’s license to operate shall also be revoked.

SECTION 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — ‘The Commission on Higher
Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of
Education, and in close consultation and coordination with student and campus press
organizations and all other concemed sectors, shall promulgate within sixty (60) days upon its
approval, the rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this Act.

SECTION 20. Separability Clause. — If any section or provision of this Act shall be declared
‘unconstitutional, the remaining sections or provisions shall not be affected thereby.

SECTION 21. Repeal. — Republic Act No. 7079, entitled “AN ACT PROVIDING FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF CAMPUS JOURNALISM” is hereby
repealed. All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, letters of instruction, rules and
regulations which are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

SECTION 22. Effectivity: ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the completion of
its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Adopted,