Comelec-NIR exec welcomes 'criminalizing' attacks vs. media
2024-Aug-02 08:00
MEDIA SUMMIT. Members of the Fourth Estate in Negros Oriental attended a summit on July 26, 2024, on press freedom and safety. The Presidential Task Force on Media Safety and the Commission on Elections are working together on a proposal to protect the media covering the upcoming 2025 elections. (PNA/Mary Judaline Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Commission on Elections-Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) welcomes the proposal to criminalize attacks and other similar aggressions against media practitioners, especially during an election period, an official said Thursday.
In an interview, Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-NIR regional election director, said declaring certain acts involving the safety of journalists as illegal would deter persons who intend to harm them.
"We in the Comelec have a special provision in the Omnibus Election Code protecting officials and employees from threats, coercion, harassment, and the like. It would also be good to include the media," Castillano, a lawyer, said.
"We need a vibrant and transparent media, and those threatened or coerced may end up spreading fake news," he added.
Castillano was reacting to a recent statement of Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Safety (PTFoMS), that talks are underway with the Comelec on criminalizing acts of violence and intimidation against the media.
Gutierrez said during a PTFoMS summit here on media safety on July 26 that they are optimistic this will be realized before aspirants seeking election in May 2025 file their certificates of candidacy.
Still, Castillano recognized the need for a clear definition of a media practitioner to be covered by such protective measures. He noted that there are currently many types of media practitioners, including mainstream, social media, and in-house media bureaus.
He added that the media is vulnerable and prone to such acts, sometimes even violent ones, especially by politicians and political candidates during election season. (PNA)