Press statement of Senator Loren Legarda

ON RIGHT TO REPLY BILL

I am withdrawing my support from the right to reply bill because I now realize that an untrammeled press is better than a press that is dictated by authority. Our constitution says that "No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press ..."

Ever since the interpellation stage of the proposed measure, I have expressed my reservations to approve the same.

I interpret this to mean that any law dictating to the media what to write, what to publish, or what to broadcast is a violation of this provision which is a pillar of democratic freedom. It is a prior restraint. It is true that there is no absolute right. The freedom of the press or expression is not absolute because it is still subject to the laws of libel or slander.

The media have their own codes of ethics that require them to exercise objectivity and fairness in their reportage and commentaries. They have professional organizations that oblige them to observe these principles with sanctions. The check to the power of media is the public which can hold its patronage if the media organization is unfair, biased or malicious.

As Thomas Jefferson, the author of the US Declaration of Independence, said, "The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by a despotic government."

ON MELO WARNS VS. HYBRID ELECTIONS

The Congress must act positively on the request of the Commission on Electionsfor the passage of an adequate budget for the automation of the 2010 elections to ensure that the people's will shall be truly reflected in the counting of the ballots.

We don't want a repetition of the 2004 presidential electionsthat resulted in rampant irregularities and the election of an administration whose legitimacy remains under serious question up to the present. Because of the "Hello Garci" and other incidents of vote fraud and vote rigging in the 2004 elections, our people's faith in their government had been eroded, resulting in continued instability and paralysis in government functions.

But the Congress must introduce safeguards in the appropriation of the more than P11 billion sought for the purchase of a poll automation system. The anomaly that attended the previous purchase of poll automation machines by the Comelec intended for the 2004 elections but were not used should not be repeated. The possibility of another EDSAI uprising hinges on the holding and outcome of the 2010 presidential polls, and on whether it is held honestly or it is manipulated to favor the ruling or other interests.

ON GMA URGES BUSINESS

In stimulating the economy, our government must not depend solely on the private sector, which is precisely the sector that is being badly impacted by the global financial meltdown. In the United States, Europeand among the Asian economic tigers like China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, it is the government that is coming to succor of private entities like banks, insurance companies, automobile and other manufacturing firms. It is true that the private sector must cooperate with the government in its stimulus program, but the initiative must come from the government. The government should listen closely to the business owners and executives instead of hectoring them and asking for their contributions when as a matter of fact they have suffered losses from the economic downturn not of their own making. The government should craft and adopt macro-economic policies that would help and guide the private sector in this time of crisis.

I suggest that aside from helping the exporters and manufacturers whose businesses have suffered, the government should also provide robust financial aid and strengthen existing government programs for assisting small and medium industries, agricultural cooperatives and provide for assistance to the newly unemployed. The stimulus package should not only be further increased, it should also target the improvement of the domestic economy to provide not only employment but also additional purchasing power that could stimulate the national economy as a whole.