Philippine Press Council Resolution

Philippine Press Council Resolution

WHEREAS the Constitution guarantees against any laws that will abridge the freedom of the press;
WHEREAS libertarian democracies interpret press freedom as freedom from prior restraint and from subsequent punishment for good-faith publication, and the right to information;
WHEREAS there is jurisprudence protecting the press from prior compulsion as to what to publish;
WHEREAS journalists accept the possibility that their reporting and commentaries may sometimes be challenged;
WHEREAS most newspapers have a built-in mechanism for publishing corrections, rebuttals, replies, counter-versions;
WHEREAS about one hundred newspapers affiliated with the Philippine Press Institute fall under the ethical jurisdiction of the Press Council;
WHEREAS the Philippine Press Council has a mechanism for right-of-reply appeals;
WHEREAS the PPI has bound itself to support all decisions of the Press Council and to impose sanctions on erring members if necessary;
WHEREAS there were as many as three bills pending in both Houses of Congress criminalizing the failure to publish a reply;
WHEREAS a statutory right of reply has been deemed a form of prior compulsion;
WHEREAS, the Press Council has assured the legislator authors of their commitment to guarantee the right of reply without the need for legislation;
WHEREAS Sen. Pimentel has expressed his openness to a private right of reply;
WHEREAS Rep. Angara has withdrawn his bill from the Committee on Public Information;
WHEREAS the Fair Elections Act (R.A. 9006) has a mandatory right of reply provision; 
WE THEREFORE, reaffirm our commitment to a voluntary right of reply;
URGE Sen. Pimentel and Rep. Puentevella to withdraw their respective bills and 
IMPLORE the Philippine legislature to repeal Section 10 of R.A. 9006.

Adopted by the Philippine Press Institute on May 29, 2008 during the 12th National Press Forum