(The Philippine Star)
| Updated November 13, 2012 - 12:00am)
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The decision of the
Supreme Court (SC) to prohibit live media coverage of the Maguindanao massacre
trial has drawn flak from sectors that see it as a step backward in obtaining
justice for victims of the carnage allegedly perpetuated by the Ampatuan clan.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday
questioned the SC ruling and described it as a “bad development” in what has
been dubbed as the “trial of the century in the Philippine justice system.”
“With due respect to the SC, I personally
feel that it’s not a good move, not a good development because the trial needs
to be closely monitored by the people,” she told reporters.
De Lima said she would meet the DOJ panel
of prosecutors handling the massacre case to look into possible actions,
including filing of an appeal of the SC ruling.
“Remember, the Maguindanao massacre is
supposed to be the trial of the century insofar as the Philippine justice
system is concerned. We’re not just the ones interested in it but also the
international community, especially now when many are asking when this trial
will end,” she stressed.
SC flip flops
In its resolution promulgated last Oct. 23
but released yesterday, the SC reversed its ruling of June 2011 allowing the
live broadcast of the massacre trial by partially granting the motion for
reconsideration filed by primary accused Andal Ampatuan Jr.
The high court held that live coverage of
the trial would violate the constitutional rights of the accused to due process
and to an impartial and public trial.
But De Lima contested this, arguing there
is a way to balance the conflicting rights of the accused and of the public to
know without necessarily banning live coverage as what had been provided for in
an earlier SC ruling penned by retired justice and now Ombudsman Conchita
Carpio-Morales.
“The remedy should be clear guidelines.
They can just impose certain limitations and safeguards to protect the rights
of the accused,” De Lima pointed out.
Several groups, including the National
Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) and families of the victims, who
had earlier sought the SC’s approval of the live broadcast of the trial,
slammed the SC move.
In its latest ruling, the SC totally
scrapped live coverage and only allowed audio-visual recordings of the trial
for documentary purposes and for transmittal in closed-circuit viewing areas
within the Camp Bagong Diwa premises and trial court in Maguindanao, Koronadal,
South Cotabato, and General Santos City, where most relatives of the accused
and victims reside.
However, witnesses would be banned from
watching the proceedings inside the courtroom or in designated viewing areas.
The high court said a single fixed compact
camera would be used to provide a wide-angle full view of the court, with no
panning and zooming “to avoid unduly highlighting or downplaying incidents in
the proceedings.”
The SC said original recordings of the
trial will be deposited with the National Museum and the Records Management and
Archives Office for preservation.
The recordings would be placed under the
supervision of Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.
Palace disappointed
Malacañang expressed disappointment
yesterday over the SC decision to ban live media broadcast of the Maguindanao
massacre trial and urged the high tribunal to revisit its ruling. Presidential
spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that President Aquino’s position has always been
for the trial to be covered live by the media and be monitored by the public.
“The decision of the Supreme Court was
quite restrictive,” Lacierda said.
“I hope that they can revisit their
decision. I don’t know what prompted them to change their minds on the live
coverage of the massacre trial. But that is the litmus test of the judiciary
and it is important for us – both the public and media – to be able to know
what’s going on in the Maguindanao massacre trial,” he said.
“On the other hand, I think the Supreme
Court has already made substantial number of means to improve or to hasten the
process,” he said.
For instance, Lacierda said the hearing of
the case was three times a week already and the judge had devoted full-time to
the trial.
‘Deadly blow to justice’
Meanwhile, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri
Colmenares yesterday urged the high court to reconsider its decision to ban
media coverage of the trial.
“The SC decision to ban live coverage is a
deadly blow to the efforts of the victims’ families to ensure that public
interest and attention will not wane,” Colmenares said.
He said the length of the trial would favor
the accused as they hope that public interest and attention will wane as years
go by.
“This is a public interest case not just
for us but for the international community as well and the SC should have
allowed its live coverage and promote transparency in the trial of such a
heinous crime,” he added. – (With Aurea Calica, Paolo Romer)