Hat Tip to lawyer Romel Bagares, Esq. for this link.
PhilStar.com (Nov12,2k12)
Philippines Supreme Court : No live TV
broadcast of Maguindanao massacre trial
MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court on Monday announced that it denied the request of the families of the victims of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre to have a live media broadcast of the court proceedings of the multiple murder case.
In a resolution, the High court en banc partially granted the motion for reconsideration filed by the camp of one of the principal accused, former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., to disallow the live media broadcast of the trial by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
"...this Court is now disallowing the live media broadcast of the trial of the 'Maguindanao massacre' cases but is still allowing the filming of the proceedings for the real-time transmission to specified viewing areas, and documentation," the SC resolution read.
The High Court also maintained that "the accused's right to a public trial should not be confused with the freedom of the press and the public's right to know as a justification for allowing the live broadcast of the trial. The tendency of a high profile case like the subject case to generate undue publicity with its concomitant undesirable effects weighs heavily against broadcasting the trial."
The SC added that "aside from providing a viewing area outside the courtroom in Camp Bagong Disaw, closed-circuit viewing areas can also be opened in selected trial courts in Maguindanao, Koronadal, South Cotabato, and General Santos City where most of the relatives of the accused and the victims reside, enabling them to watch the trial without having to come to Camp Bagong Diwa."
The viewing areas will be under the control of the trial court judges involved, subject to this Court's supervision, the High Court said.
The SC came out of the resolution after two of the families of the victims, Editha Tiamzon and Glenna Legarta filed a partial motion for reconsideration before the SC, arguing that "prohibiting broadcasts on the trial without any voice-overs, except brief annotations of scenes depicted in the proceeding that may be necessary to explain them at the start or at the end of the scene."
They added that "requiring continuous broadcast without any commercial break or any other gap except when the day's proceedings are adjourned, or during the period of recess called by the trial court and during portions of the proceedings wherein the public is ordered excluded, all substitute the Court's editorial judgment for media's own and therefore constitute prior restraint that infringes the constitutional right to free expression."
Aside from Andal Jr., other accused in the criminal cases included his father, former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., former ARMM chairman Zaldy Ampatuan.
During the massacre on Nov. 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao, several armed men, including Andal Jr. and some relatives, reportedly killed 58 people, including several media workers and journalists.
