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‘Decriminalizing libel might increase killings’

Ayee Macaraig

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‘Decriminalizing libel might increase killings’
Senator Koko Pimentel says he fears complainants seeking to silence libelous remarks might be left with no other 'remedy' if libel is decriminalized

MANILA, Philippines – What is the connection between removing the prison penalty for libel and the Philippines’ perennial problem of journalists being gunned down?

For Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, one thing could lead to the other as he said that decriminalizing libel might lead to an increase in media killings.

In a Senate hearing on media killings on Tuesday, May 20, the chairman of the justice committee drew a relationship between bills to decriminalize libel, and those seeking to address media killings.

“That is the point that’s why [decriminalizing libel] is still pending in my committee. My fear is that if we decriminalize libel, those who believe filing a criminal case might silence unfair libelous remarks, they will no longer have any more remedy. All the more, this might lead to more media killings if we decriminalize libel,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel called for a hearing on decriminalizing libel last week, where media groups argued that the prison penalty has a chilling effect on the media, and threatens press freedom and free speech. Instead, journalists and proponents want libel to be considered a civil offense or without the prison penalty.

The senator again brought up the topic in the media killings inquiry, and asked the opinion of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Superintendent Augusto Marquez Jr.

Marquez replied, “If there is no remedy for people who feel aggrieved, [the] most expedient [remedy] is to kill. You are right, the volume [of killings] might increase.”

‘Remuneration enough’

Benny Antiporda, president of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists, was quick to respond to the views of the two. 

“It’s not right for the journalist to get jailed. Our stand is decriminalize libel but at the same time, if the complainant can get remuneration like money, that is enough. The person should not suffer by being jailed or have a shortcut like just killing him or her,” Antiporda said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Pimentel said he will hold another hearing on decriminalizing libel. “But the point is: the killers may have been hurt so much, unfairly libeled, that they were impelled to do violence.”

Decriminalizing libel and addressing media killings are two advocacies that journalists and human rights groups in the Philippines are pushing for.

In last week’s hearing, media groups pointed out that the Philippines is one of the few remaining countries where libel remains a crime. Many senators are in favor of decriminalization and filed bills proposing it but Pimentel remains unconvinced.

Pimentel told Rappler that he is more inclined to lower the penalty for libel by “improving the law” than “take the extreme step of decriminalizing it.” He had said in the hearing that Philippine media, being one of Asia’s freest, tends to be “reckless.”

JUSTICE FOR MOM. The son of slain journalist Rubylita Garcia appears before the Senate, with Poe assuring him the public information committee will help secure justice for his mother. With them is Benny Antiporda, president of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists. Photo by Romeo Bugante/Senate PRIB

‘Police should not probe Garcia case’

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the public information and mass media committee, focused on the issue of media killings, saying that international rights groups called out the Philippines’ poor record.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is the 3rd worst country in solving the murder of journalists while Reporters Without Borders said that the Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

In the hearing, the PNP’s Task Force Usig said there were 115 cases of media killings in the Philippines since 2001, 48 of them work-related. Of the 48, only 6 were resolved but the convictions only involved the gunman and not the mastermind.

Poe cited the case of journalist Rubylita Garcia, who was gunned down in her home in Bacoor, Cavite in April. The senator called to the hearing Garcia’s son, a minor whose face was covered and whose identity was concealed.

Garcia’s son echoed the argument of media groups that a key problem in solving media-related crimes was that standard operating procedures dictated that the police investigate media killings even when the suspects are policemen themselves.

“We did not like what the police did. They asked us to point to one person as suspect when this was not who the witness saw. It even came to a point when they said they will give us the reward just to point to that person. It strengthened my resolve that the police should not be handling the case,” Garcia’s son said in Filipino.

Lawyer Herminia Angeles of the justice department conceded that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) can handle cases like these instead of the police.

Angeles said that the Malacañang-formed inter-agency committee composed of the justice department, NBI, and the PNP had the task to investigate and prosecute media killings.

Yet media groups like the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, and the National Press Club pointed out that the group should include journalists as representatives.

Direct line to police

Poe suggested that PNP set up a “direct line” where journalists can immediately contact them when there is a threat to their safety.

“What I’m saying is if you can have with the media an internal affairs office where you can call and have civilian monitoring so any threat by the media can be taken seriously. Maybe we can cooperate to establish that and calls will be anonymous.”

Poe added that steps like improving police training on evidence gathering and preservation, and increasing the number of policeman will help address the problem. 

International observers have pointed out that the culture of impunity drives extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances in the Philippines.

Human rights groups said that the government’s failure to prosecute and secure the conviction of suspects emboldens abusers to kill journalists and activists. – Rappler.com

 

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