Various media outfits have asked the Supreme Court to allow live coverage of the promulgation of the infamous Maguindanao massacre case set on December 19, 2019.
In a three-page letter sent to Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) said the media and the public waited 10 years for the event, thus, should be allowed to witness the promulgation.
The groups said the live coverage/streaming of the promulgation would benefit the families of the 58 victims, 32 of whom were journalists, who are mostly based in General Santos City, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao.
“The live coverage/streaming of the promulgation would allow the families and relatives of the 58 victims who may not be able to attend the promulgation in Metro Manila to hear live the reading of the Court’s decision on the killing of their relatives…not every family member has the capacity to fly to Manila,” the letter read.
The NUJP and CMFR also suggested that the SC designate a specific area within the courtroom as a media gallery where reporters and cameramen will be stationed.
They pointed out that the live coverage would also not be prejudicial to the rights of the accused, noting that promulgation is just a reading of the judge’s decision as stated in the Rules of Court.
It would also allow the public to hear the ruling of the lower court, boosting “the public’s trust on transparency and accountability of Court processes, particularly in how fair and just the case has been decided.”
The letter was signed by various media networks, publications and journalists.
The Maguindanao massacre case claimed the lives of 58 individuals including 32 print and broadcast journalists who were then accompanying a group of supporters of now Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu in filing his papers to run for the post of Maguindanao governor against Andal Ampatuan Jr., then-Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.’s son.
They were waylaid by armed supporters of the Ampatuans and brought in the town of Ampatuan where they were slaughtered and buried in hastily dug graves.
The case should have been decided last month as it was already submitted for resolution last August but Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes asked the Supreme Court for additional time before coming up with a decision.
Under the Rules, a Court has 90 days upon which to issue judgment after a case has been submitted for resolution.
The SC granted Solis-Reyes’s request for a one-month extension and she is expected to render a decision on or before December 20.
Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez earlier said the Court is still making arrangements for media coverage.
Image credits: AP, AP/Aaron Favila