The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) said one of the challenges in fighting the harassment of media workers is the lack of formal cases filed against perpetrators.
PTFOMS Executive Director Jose Torres Jr. was in Camp Crame on Thursday to visit the Philippine National Police (PNP) Press Corps as part of a series of consultations on media welfare concerns.
Asked in an interview about challenges to fighting media harassment, Torres said, ‘Ang problema natin, maraming cases na hindi nag-file ang mga kasamahan natin sa media. Walang formal na filing ng kaso or hindi man lang naipaabot sa atin.’
(Our problem is that, in my cases, our friends in the media have not filed a complaint. There isn’t a formal filing of a case or we weren’t even notified of the incident.)
‘Minsan ay siguro ipinaubaya na lang dahil lumipas na. Or minsan, malaking issue din kasi yung pondo, yung mahirap yung financial. Kasi isipin nyo naman kung mag-file kayo ng kaso, kailangan niyo ng abogado, kailangan niyo ng mga papel,’ he added.
(Perhaps, they just let it be because time has passed. Or sometimes, funding is also a very big issue and their financial situation might not be good. If you file a case, you need a lawyer, you need documents.)
Torres cited data from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines showing that 199 journalists have been killed in the country since 1986. The PTFOMS executive director said he is making rounds among the country’s press corps as part of dialogues to formulate recommendations for legislation to protect media workers’ welfare.
He noted that among the recommendations being crafted so far were protections for freelancers as well as culturally sensitive training workshops.
Although Torres did not name a specific piece of legislation, House Bill No. 1985 or the proposed Media Workers’ Welfare Act aims to ensure that the sector receives a minimum wage, adequate benefits and regularization.