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Friday, March 29, 2024

Bill of rights’ proposed insertion defended, assailed

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THE proposal to insert the word “responsible” in the Bill of Rights to limit free speech protection came from the Office of the President, and not from the House subcommittee that proposed it, Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro said Thursday.

“It did not come from the subcommittee. It was from the Presidential Committee on Human Rights secretariat,” Castro told ANC’s Early Edition.

The amendments proposed include a change in Section 4 in the Bill of Rights to read: “No law shall be passed abridging the responsible exercise of the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

During discussion on Charter change earlier this week, Castro defended the insertion of the adjective “responsible.”

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“This time, if you go around, there is so much abuse of this freedom. They think it is unrestrained. Therefore, we propose the insertion of that phrase,” Castro said.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the proposal did not come from his office, but could not confirm that it came from the Office of the President.

In the same ANC program, former solicitor general Florin Hilbay said inserting the word “responsible” in the Bill of Rights clause on free speech was dangerous because it gave the state the power to define what is responsible.

“There is an inherent conflict there because if the government gets to define what is responsible speech, then they have the basic control over the amount of criticism they can get,” Hilbay said.

“The function of the media is to put critical light on public officials, the way they conduct themselves, the way they conduct public functions. It doesn’t go the other way around,” he added.

He added that libel laws already protect against abuses to the right of free speech.

The proposal to limit free speech protection comes amid a move by the government to shut down the online news portal Rappler, which has been critical of the administration’s bloody war on drugs.

The move was seen by many as an attack on press freedom.

On Thursday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II denied insinuations that the investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation on the ownership of Rappler was a “fishing expedition” or an attack on press freedom.

These suggestions were “unfounded and most unfair,” he said.

The Justice secretary on Wednesday ordered the NBI to conduct an investigation and case build-up after the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked the certificate of incorporation of Rappler on the ground that it violated the constitutional limits on foreign ownership in media.

Aguirre said his order for the NBI to conduct an investigation “was never intended to interfere nor violate press freedom.”

“We want to emphasize that your DoJ respects freedom of the press. However, to borrow the words of the National Press Club, responsible journalism means compliance with the law,” he said in a statement.

The National Press Club was the only media organization that defended the SEC decision.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Thursday said a free and untrammeled press is essential to democracy.

“To put a muzzle on independent reporting is to limit the exchange of ideas essential to good governance,” he said.

“We need an uncowed media to tell truth to power, to hold rulers accountable, to right the wrongs, to ask the important questions, to improve policy, to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable,” he added.

Detained Senator Leila de Lima said Roque’s statement that Rappler’s journalists could still be bloggers after the news portal shuts down reflected the hubris that the Palace spokesman exhibited these days.

She said it was a clear warning that the Palace has no second thoughts about employing draconian methods to deal with public dissent and a free press.

She said Roque has no qualms comparing his government to that of the Marcos dictatorship, the only regime that used the military to shut down newspapers.

“He is actually proud that his boss is capable of using the military to shut down newspapers, and he thinks the media should be grateful that in spite of this capability, Duterte is so kind enough not to do so.”

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