ROXAS CALLS FOR SENATE INQUIRY
TO FILE RESOLUTION ON HIGH-HANDED TREATMENT OF JOURNALISTS AND ALLIED ISSUES

Senator Mar Roxas will file a Senate resolution Monday denouncing the high-handed treatment by the authorities of local and foreign journalists covering the Manila Peninsula incident last Friday, and to hammer out clear rules of engagement regarding the role of the press in such extraordinary political events.

"We should remember that in EDSA 1 and EDSA 2, the support of the media was actively enlisted and extolled by the beneficiaries of a transfer of political power," Roxas, President of the Liberal Party, said.

"Are we now changing the standards and rules of the game?" he asked.

The senator said the issue surrounding Senator Antonio Trillanes' takeover of the Peninsula hotel must be separated from state decisions and actions in relation to the media.

He added: "The custody of journalists and confiscation of media materials and equipment by police authorities are outstanding issues that have to be threshed out openly, soberly, and truthfully."

"I was told by my sources that a PNP official told the detained journalists that they were both victims and suspects. This is a matter that must be brought out into the open and clarified. Was that officer speaking on behalf of the state or was it just an off-the-cuff, personal remark?" Roxas said.

Roxas' resolution would also lay the basis for a Senate inquiry into the alleged "processing" of working journalists by the authorities in the aftermath of a controversial political event.

"The press is recognized by the Constitution as a counterbalance against the institutional abuse of power, through the transparent coverage of events to forestall deception or propaganda. The recent actions of the law enforcement authorities impose a chilling effect on this role," Roxas said.

"Unless the rules of engagement between the media and law enforcers can be clarified, this conundrum can repeat itself and become the norm rather than an unlawful and therefore dangerous exception," he said.

The senator said a Senate inquiry could provide invaluable insights on how the government, particularly the police and military, perceives the role of the media.

"Threats to press freedom and public access to official information have been a recurring theme under this administration and it is high time that we confront the question of whether these rights are now being systematically undermined," Roxas said.

The LP Chief said his stand is consistent with the Freedom of Information Act which he filed in the Senate, and the petition he filed before the Supreme Court seeking to compel the Government to release the minutes of the NEDA meetings on the ZTE controversy.