Senate panel to ammend Sotto Law
The Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media supported the expansion of the 70-year-old Shield Law, which allows the non-disclosure of information obtained by broadcast and online journalists on Wednesday, November 9
Senate Bills No. 6 and No. 486 filed by Senate Majority Leader Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, respectively aimed to amend the Republic Act (RA) No. 53, known as the Shield Law or Sotto Law, which covers the exemption of the publisher, editor or reporter of any media outlet from revealing the information from their sources.
“These bills acknowledge [that] journalism has now taken on a multimedia character. Thus, these seek to protect broadcast, radio and online journalists from divulging their sources,” Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the committee, said.
Sotto, grandson of the late senator Vicente Sotto who authored RA No. 53, expanded his proposed Senate Bill No. 6 by mentioning that the scope of the said law was only limited to print for there were no broadcast organizations yet in 1946, the year the law was passed.
“We are [now] covering the entire spectrum of news and journalism. We will just be very careful in the issue of social media; dapat legitimate social media practitioners,” he added.
However, Sotto said online bloggers are only covered by the constitutional right of freedom of expression so if they will be asked who their sources are, they will have to reveal it.
Philippine Press Institute and Editor in chief of Pilipino Star Ngayon Alfonso Peroche agreed to the measures passed by the senate committee, stating that it would be beneficial for the protection and advancement of the practice of journalism profession.
Poe said the committee targets to sponsor the proposed bill as soon as possible.
Different resource persons from the Presidential Communications Operations Office, Office of Solicitor General, National Press Club, Philippine Press Institute, Department of Justice and National Union of Journalist of the Philippines also backed the proposed bill.###
