THE Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to allow live media coverage of the promulgation of the decisions of the Maguindanao massacre case set on Thursday, December 19, 2019, at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
At a news briefing, SC Spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said strict security measures would also be implemented considering that around 400 individuals, including relatives of the parties, counsels, media men and court staff are expected to be present during the proceedings.
Members of media, however, will not be allowed in the actual courtroom considering the limited space although there will be a designated area for them.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), according to Hosaka, will be on top of the security measures to be implemented during the promulgation.
“In fact, I am scheduled to meet with them later this week because after discussing this matter with the media this morning [Tuesday morning], I will have to talk to them on the security concerns,” Hosaka explained.
Among the security issues to be ironed out, according to Hosaka, is whether to allow media men to bring with them the gadgets they need for an efficient and timely coverage.
“Whether the gadgets will be allowed inside the media room, that would still be finalized via the guidelines,” the SC spokesman said.
“So if you would need that and we will suggest that to the security experts and depending on their assessment of the situation then they will inform us and they will inform me. But definitely, with respect to security measures we will leave it up to the experts to call that,” he added.
In a letter to PTV General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Julieta Claveria-Lacza, Hosaka requested PTV last week to provide technical support and make the footage available for hook up to other news outfit.
Earlier, various media outfits have asked SC to allow live coverage of the promulgation of the infamous Maguindanao massacre case set on December 19.
In a three-page letter to Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta last December 3, 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 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-Gov. 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 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, presiding judge of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, which is handling the case, asked the SC for additional time before coming up with decision.
Chief Justice Peralta said the court considered the huge volume of evidence and parties in the case in giving a 30-day extension to Solis-Reyes.
Image credits: Aerous