Press Release
December 3, 2007

ROXAS, AQUINO SEEK SENATE PROBE
INTO "PROCESSING" OF MEDIA

Senator Mar Roxas, together with fellow Liberal Party stalwart Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, filed a resolution seeking an inquiry on the so-called "processing" of media practitioners present during the Manila Peninsula siege last Thursday.

"We cannot trivialize this matter as it goes against the intent and spirit of the Constitution," Roxas and Aquino said in filing Senate Resolution No. 229 today.

The resolution states: "The arrest of journalists and seizure of media equipment including videos unavoidably create and impose a 'chilling effect' on the press as regards its participation in highly sensitive and volatile newsworthy situations, political or otherwise."

The new Liberal Party President noted the crucial role media played in EDSAs 1 and 2, when the people had lost faith in their government due to allegations of corruption and human rights abuses that were reported.

"The administration should be mindful of the lessons from the past. As history shows, press freedom is usually the first casualty in any political conflict leading to democracy's demise," he added.

The Senate inquiry aims to clarify how police authorities and the media perceive their roles in conflict situations. "We have to align these perceptions with what is clearly stated in the Constitution," Roxas stressed.

The two senators proposed that the journalists who were handcuffed and brought to Camp Bagong Diwa be invited to attend the Senate inquiry together with representatives from the PNP, AFP and the DOJ. "We will request the appropriate committees to also invite various media organizations who have issued statements of concern over the "processing" of their colleagues," Roxas said.

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