Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. BEIVED:
Soe 27. AUG.2013.
4S¥ PH,

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS Kea, Se

First Regular Session Xu ow
INDEX DY
2568 ee

House Bill No. ee

Introduced by Hon. Sol Aragones

EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution, Article 3, Sections 4 and 7, provides:
Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or

Of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for
redress of grievances.

tion 7, ‘The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall
be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official
acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for poli
development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law.

‘The Supreme Court declared in the case of Fermin y. People, with respect to our
constitutional freedom of expression, "it has become the singular role of the press to act as its
‘defensor fidei in a democratic society such as ours.” However, despite the seemingly vibrant
democracy in our country, our journalists are among the most vulnerable in the world. The
New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists listed our country as the third-most
dangerous place for journalists with the rising number of unsolved killings of media men over
the years.

This bill adopts and incorporates the Journalist's Code of Ethics formulated by the
Philippine Press Institute and the National Press Club. It provides for the rights and
obligations of journalists to their peers as well as to the public. This bill also proposes the
creation of a Journalist Welfare Fund to aid journalists in distress. Lastly, it recognizes the
freedom of information as a right and allows for the access of government records to allow

for a better check on the operations of government. The media, after all, are among the most


effective watchdogs of government in any society and it is about time that their rights are
protected through legislation.

ION. SOWARAGONES
Representative, 3" District of Laguna

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
‘SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bil No,_2968

Introduced by Hon. Sol Aragones

———————————

AN ACT
CREATING A MAGNA CARTA FOR JOURNALISTS

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. ~ This shall be known as the “Magna Carta for Journalists
Act of 2013.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policies. ~ The State reaffirms its protection of the
freedom of speech, of expression, and of the press;

‘Towards this end, the State shall encourage journalism that fully informs the public
and is independent from the government and acts as its watchdog;

It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote and develop further the
journalism profession and to encourage a media industry that provides an uninhibited
marketplace of ideas;

The State shall promote a media industry that uses its resources in a responsible

manner to serve the public interest;
‘The State shall also protect the right of the people to information on matters of public
concer.
Towards this end, access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining,
to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as
basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to limitations provided by

this Act and other relevant laws.


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ist’s responsibility towards the public supersedes
any other responsibility particularly towards his employers and the public authorities.

SECTION 3. Definitions. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(a) “Journalism” shall refer to the collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of

news or news articles in newspapers and mag:

ines, radio and television
broadcasts, on the Internet, or any other similar medium;

(6) “Journalist” shall refer to any person who engages in the practice of
journalism whether for compensation or not;

(©) “Media” means the production of electronic or print media for circulation to
the public, but does not include book publishing;

(d) “Media enterprise” means an organization whose business involves. the
collection, processing, and dissemination of news or news articles, or in
entertainment and education through the media;

(©) “Publication” means the dissemination to the public of any written, audio, or

video material, including materials disseminated through the Internet;
() "Public body" means all legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or
advisory bodies of the government, including state universities and colleges,
local government units, national or local agencies, and all other

instrumentalities of government.

SECTION 4. Journalist's Code of Ethics. ~ Every journalist:

(a) Shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to suppress
essential facts or to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. He shall recognize
the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.

(b) Shall not violate confidential information or material given to him in the exercise
of his calling.

(©) Shall resort only to fair and honest methods in his effort to obtain news,
photographs and/or documents, and shall properly identify himself as a representative of the

press when obtaining any personal interview intended for publication.
(@) Shall refrain from writing reports which will adversely affect a private reputation
unless the public interest justifies it. At the same time, he shall fight vigorously for public

access to information.


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(e) He shall not let personal motives or interests influence him in the performance of
his duties; nor shall he accept or offer any present, gift or other consideration of a nature
which may cast doubt on his professional integrity.

(f) He shall not commit any act of plagiarism.

(g) He shall not in any manner ridicule, cast aspersions on, or degrade any person by
reason of sex, creed, religious belief, political conviction, cultural or ethnic origin.

(h) He shall presume persons accused of crime of being innocent until proven
‘otherwise. He shall exercise caution in publishing names of minors and women involved in
criminal cases so that they may not unjustly lose their standing in society.

(i) He shall not take unfair advantage of fellow journalists.

(j) He shall accept only such tasks as are compatible with the integrity and dignity of
the profession, invoking the ‘conscience clause” when duties imposed on him conflict with
the voice of his conscience.

(&) He shall comport himself in public or while performing his duties as journalist in
such manner as to maintain the dignity of the profession. When in doubt, decency should be

his watch word.

SECTION 5. Bill of Rights of Journalists. - In line with this Act, every journalist shall
enjoy the following rights:
(a) Freedom and independence from pressure or any kind of interference from the
Government;
(b) Freedom and independence from pressure or any kind of interference from
businesses;
(c) Every journalist shall have the right to form, hold, receive and impart opinions;
(@) Journalists shall have the right to be free from harassment, threats, and violence in
the exercise of their profession;
(€) Journalists shall have free access to all information sources as provided in Sections
6 and 7 of this Act, and the right to freely inquire on all events involving public
matters;
(f) A journalist cannot be compelled to perform a professional act or to express an

opinion contrary to his convictions or conscience;

(g) Taking into account his functions and responsibilities, a journalist shall be entitled
not only to the benefits resulting from collective bargaining agreements but also from

individual contracts of employment, ensuring the material and moral security of his


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work as well as a fair and just salary that is commensurate to his work load and

seniority and that will guarantee his economic independence.

SECTION 6. Presumption. — Alll records in the custody or possession of a public body
are presumed to be open to inspection or copying. Any public body that asserts that a record
is exempt from disclosure has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that it

is exempt.

SECTION 7. Freedom of Information. — (a) Each public body shall make available to

any person for inspection or copying all public records, except as otherwise provided in

Section 7 of this Act. Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to any
person or entity, whether by contract, license, or otherwise, the exclusive right to access and
disseminate any public record as defined in this Act;

(b) Subject to the fee that may be reasonably charged, each public body shall
promptly provide, to any person who submits a request, a copy of any public record required
to be disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify such copy if so requested.

(©) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in writing and directed to the
public body. Written requests may be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail,
telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public body may honor oral requests
for inspection or copying. A public body may not require that a request be submitted on a
standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose for a request, except to
determine whether the records are requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a
request for a fee waiver. All requests for inspection and copying received by a public body
shall immediately be forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer or designee.

(d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or deny a request for public
records within 5 business days after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is
properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section. Denial shall be in writing as provided
in Section 9 of this Act. Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time for
response, or deny a request within 5 business days after its receipt shall be considered a
denial of the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request within the requisite
periods in this Section but thereafter provides the requester with copies of the requested
public records may not impose a fee for such copies. A public body that fails to respond to a

request received may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection (g).


(©) The time for response under this Section may be extended by the public body for
not more than 5 business days from the original due date for any of the following reasons:
(the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than
the office having charge of the requested records;
(ii) the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified
records;
(iii) the requested records require examination and_ evaluation by personnel
having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
disclosure under the conditions set in this Act or should be revealed only with

appropriate deletions;

(iv) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within
the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening
or interfering with the operations of the public body;

(¥) there is a need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all

practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a

public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter

of the request.

() When additional time is required for any of the above reasons, the public body
shall, within 5 business days after receipt of the request, notify the person making the request
of the reasons for the extension and the date by which the response will be forthcoming.
Failure to respond within the time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of the
request. A public body that fails to respond to a request within the time permitted for
extension but thereafter provides the requester with copies of the requested public records
may not impose a fee for those copies. A public body that requests an extension and
subsequently fails to respond to the request may not treat the request as unduly burdensome
under subsection (g).

(g) Requests calling for all records falling within a category shall be complied with
unless compliance with the request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden on the public body outw

the public interest in the information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body shall
extend to the person making the request an opportunity to confer with it in an attempt to
reduce the request to manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical request
by stating that compliance would unduly burden its operation and the conditions described

above are met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it would be unduly


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burdensome and the extent to which compliance will so burden the operations of the public
body. Such a response shall be treated as a denial of the request for information.
Repeated requests from the same person for the same records that are unchanged or
identical to records previously provided or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed
unduly burdensome under this provision.
(h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations in conformity with the
provisions of this Section pertaining to the availability of records and procedures to be
followed, including the times and places where such records will be made available, and the

persons from whom such records may be obtained.

SECTION 8. Exceptions. ~ The following shall not be included in the scope of the

previously preceding Section:
(@) Information specifically authorized to be kept Secret under guidelines established by

an executive order, and properly classified;
(©) The records of minutes and advice given and opinions expressed during decision-
making or policy formulation, invoked by the Chief Executive to be privileged by

reason of the sensitivit

(©) Information pertaining to internal and/or external defense, law enforcement, and
border control;

(@) Drafts of orders, resolutions, decisions, memoranda or audit reports by any executive,
administrative, regulatory, constitutional, judicial or quasi-judicial body;

(©) Information obtained by any committee of either House of Congress in executive
session;

(Personal information of a natural person other than the requesting party;

(@) Information pertaining to trade secrets and commercial or financial information that
would seriously prejudice industrial, financial, or commercial competition;

(h) Information classified as privileged communications in legal proceedings by law or
by the Rules of Court.

() Information exempted by law or the Constitution.

SECTION 9. Annual Review by the Public. — The three biggest national associations
of journalists shall conduct an annual review of the general public opinion of the media and

publish the results in at least two newspapers of national circulation.


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SECTION 10. Security and Safety of Journalists. - All law enforcement agencies
shall prioritize the investigation and resolution of cases involving violence, threats, and
harassment directed against journalists by reason of their profession. The Chief of the
Philippine National Police shall submit a report to Congress on their progress in addressing

the cases involving journalists.

SECTION 11. Journalist Welfare Fund. ~ The amount of fifty million pesos
(P50,000,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated for the initial year of this Act. Every year
thereafter, the amount of ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) shall be included in the budget
of the Presidential Communications Operations Office for the implementation and continued
expansion of this program. The Fund may also receive voluntary contributions from

Journalists, non-governmental organizations, or persons from the private sector.

SECTION 12. Journalist Welfare Fund Committee. — There shall be a Committee to
administer the Fund composed of the Head of the Presidential Communications Operations
Office or his designated representative and two journalists of eminence to serve for a term of
three (3) years who shall be appointed by the President from a list of nominees submitted by

‘any national journalists association.

ECTION 13. Beneficiaries of the Fund. ~ The following shall be grounds for the
grant of financial assistance to the journalist or his immediate family to be determined by the
Committee which shall not be lower than TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000.00) or more
than TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P200,000.00):

(@) Death of a journalist by reason of his profession;

(b) Permanent or temporary incapacity of a journalist by reason of his profession;

(©) Journalists in distress, or journalists who suffer from conditions such as, but not
limited to, accident, ill health, political harassment (to subsidize litigation
expenses), or disappearance either in cases of forced disappearance or

disappearance in the line of duty for at least two (2) months.

SECTION 14. Rules on the grant of financial assistance. — The financial assistance
sanctioned under this Act shall be cancelled and the payments given returned to the Fund if it
‘was granted on the basis of misrepresentation or suppression of facts. In the grant of financial

assistance, the Committee shall take into consideration the financial condition of the


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applicant and the assistance likely to be received by him from his employer or from other
sources. The Committee may also decide on the basis of affidavits, certificates, and other
pieces of evidence which shall be requested from the applicant before the grant of any
assistance. The Committee shall submit an annual report to Congress on the use of the Fund
and it shall be subject to the rules and procedures of the Commission on Audit.

SECTION 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations, ~The Committee shall adopt
rules and regulation to implement the provisions pertaining to the Fund within ninety (90)
days from the date of effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 16. Separability Clause. - lf any provision of this Act or the application of
such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid, the remainder of the Act or
the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by
such declaration,

SECTION 17. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or

inconsistent with this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

SECTION 18. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Adopted,